THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


The  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 


PUBLISHED  UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF 


The  NortK  Carolina  Historical  Society 


J.  G.  de  Rori/HAO  Hamilton     V& r 
Henry  McGilhert  Wagstaff  |  bdu"^ 


VOL.  15 


DOUBLE  NUMBER 


Nos.  I  and  2 


CONTENTS 

PARTY  POLITICS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 
1835-1860 


V*  IS 


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THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


The  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 


PUBLISHED  UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF 


The  North  Carolina  Historical  Society 


J.  G.  de  Roulhac  Hamilton     )  „  ,. 
Henry  McGilbert  Wagstaff  j 


VOL.' 1 5  DOUBLE  NUMBER  Nos.  1  and  2 


CONTENTS 

PARTY  POLITICS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 
1835-1860 


dorham,  n.  c. 

The  Seeman  Printhry 

1916 


PARTY  POLITICS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 
1835-1860 

By  J.  G.  DE  ROULHAC  HAMILTON 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://archive.org/details/partypoliticsinnOOhamil 


FOREWORD 

The  following  studies  in  North  Carolina  political  history- 
appeared  in  the  Sunday  issues  of  the  Charlotte  Observer  from 
March  21  to  August  22,  1915.  In  response  to  a  considerable 
number  of  requests  that  they  be  preserved  in  a  more  perma- 
nent form  they  are  now,  through  the  kind  permission  of  the 
editor  of  the  Observer,  here  reprinted,  substantially  in  the 
form  in  which  they  were  first  published. 

In  presenting  these  sketches  of  one  phase  of  North  Caro- 
lina history  during  one  of  the  most  important  periods  of  the 
State's  existence  I  wish  to  make  it  clear  that  the  work  is  in 
no  sense  exhaustive.  There  are  undoubtedly  many  sources 
of  information  to  which  I  have  not  at  this  time  access  which 
would  throw  additional  light  on  the  motives  and  spirit  of  the 
various  characters  that  appear.  I  have,  however,  striven  to 
make  the  accounts  furnish  a  faithful  portrayal  of  the  outlines 
of  party  movement  and  action,  regarding  the  entire  investiga- 
tion simply  as  a  preliminary  to  future  work  in  the  same  field. 
They  are  written  in  the  hope  that  they  may  to  some  slight  ex- 
tent stimulate  interest  in  the  whole  question  of  the  party  his- 
tory of  the  State,  in  which  is  to  be  found  the  explanation  for 
many  of  the  conditions  and  facts  of  the  social  and  economic 
history  of  North  Carolina,  not  only  in  the  period  covered  by 
the  investigation  but  in  those  extending  to  the  present. 

In  the  investigation  I  have  placed  my  main  reliance  in 
the  newspapers  of  the  period  and  in  a  large  number  of  letters 
to  which  I  have  access.  I  have,  in  addition,  made  very  free 
use  of  all  the  secondary  material  available  bearing  on  the 
subject.  It  is  impossible  in  such  a  work  as  this  to  give  credit 
individually,  and  I  therefore  take  this  opportunity  of  ex- 
pressing my  indebtedness  to  all  the  writers  who  have  worked 
in  this  same  period.  I  have  made  use  of  them  all  and  am 
under  heavy  obligations  to  a  number  of  them. 

J.  G.  de  E.  H. 

Chapel  Hill,  Oct.  1,  1915. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Political   Significance   of  the   Conven- 

tion of   1835 9 

II.  Social,   Economic,  and  Political   Back- 

ground         IT 

III.  The  Campaign  of  1836 30 

IV.  The  Campaign  of  1838 43 

V.  The  Campaign  of  1840 53 

VI.  The  Legislature  of  1840  and  the  Cam- 

paign  of   1841 69 

VII.  The  Campaign  and  Legislature  of  1842     80 

VIII.  The  Campaign  of  1844 92 

IX.  The  Campaign  of  1846 . 104 

X.  The  Campaign  of  1848 114 

XL  The  Legislature  of  1848 126 

XII.  The  Campaign  of  1850 136 

XIII.  The  Campaign  of  1852 150 

XIV.  The  Campaign  of  1854 163 

XV.  The  Campaign  of  1856 175 

XVI.  The  Campaign  of  1858 183 

XVII.  The  Campaign  of  1860 194 

XVIII.  North  Carolina  in  1860 201 


PARTY  POLITICS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 
1835-1860 

CHAPTER  I 
POLITICAL  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  THE  CONVENTION  OF  1835 

The  convention  of  1835  marks  the  end  of  an  era  in  North 
Carolina.  In  politics  it  closes  one  distinct  period  of  history 
and  naturally  at  the  same  time  ushers  in  another  and,  in  this 
case,  a  greatly  different  one.  Called  into  existence  by  the 
people  after  a  period  of  discontent  which  had  lasted  for  near- 
ly half  a  century  and  after  a  bitter  struggle  lasting  nearly 
half  as  long  which  resulted  even  in  a  threat  of  revolution,  the 
convention  of  1835  was  the  token  of  a  sectional  victory — the 
triumph  of  the  West  over  the  East — but  it  was  also  much 
more.  It  was  a  great  democratic  victory — the  triumph  of  the 
mass  of  the  people  of  the  State  over  a,  reactionary  minority 
hitherto  impregnably  entrenched  and  apparently  invincible. 

The  convention  was  not,  however,  a  clear  and  complete 
victory.  Like  practically  every  other  body  of  its  kind,  it 
could  not  carry  out  fully  the  ideas  of  either  party  to  the 
struggle.  Compromise  was  inevitable  since  the  conservative 
forces  were  still  in  power  and  were  thus  able  to  dictate  terms. 
The  West,  too,  elated  with  victory,  was  content  with  less  than 
the  needs  and  aspirations  of  democracy  demanded  and  in 
addition,  the  western  leaders,  after  all,  could  scarcely  be 
called  progressive,  even  as  the  word  was  then  recognized  else- 
where than  in  North  Carolina,  and  so  the  work  of  the  con- 
vention was  only  a  step,  although  a  great  one,  in  a  democratic 
direction. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Constitution  of  1776  was 
in  its  practical  operation  far  from  democratic.  The  Bill  of 
Eights  contained  indeed  a  significant  statement  of  political 
theory,  the  importance  of  which  should  not  be  under-esti- 
mated, but  which  in  practice  was  denied  through  the  entire 
period  which  followed.     It  was:     "That  all  political  power 


10  James  Sprtjnt  Historical  Publications 

is  vested  in  and  derived  from  the  people  only."  In  its  real 
sense  this  had  never  been  even  an  ideal  of  North  Carolina. 
When  the  constitution  made  the  county,  along  with  certain 
towns  arbitrarily  chosen,  without  reference  to  size  or  popula- 
tion, the  basis  for  representation  for  both  Senate  and  House 
of  Commons,  it  followed  inevitably  that  the  government  was 
not  administered  by  representatives  of  the  people  but  by  the 
representatives  of  a  section,  for  the  county  basis  put  controll- 
ing power  in  the  hands  of  the  East  which  as  the  older  settled 
section  had  the  larger  number  of  counties  and  saw  to  it  that 
the  predominance  was  retained.  Nor  was  government  in 
time  administered  for  the  people.  The  West  grew  until  it 
had  a  majority  of  the  white  population  of  the  State,  but  gov- 
ernment continued  to  be  administered  for  the  benefit  of  the 
East.  And  so  it  became  true  that  a  particular  class,  the  land- 
holders, of  one  section  controlled  the  State. 

How  true  these  facts  were  may  be  seen  from  the  following 
figures:  Of  the  64  counties  of  the  State,  36  were  east  of 
Raleigh.  While  these  36  counties  contained  only  41  per  cent 
of  the  voting  population  of  the  State,  they  furnished  58  per 
cent  of  the  General  Assembly.  Their  voting  population  was 
only  8.7  per  cent  of  the  total  white  population  of  the  State 
but  it  chose  a  majority  of  the  General  Assembly  and  thus  con- 
trolled the  state  government. 

When  the  various  restrictions  and  qualifications  of  the 
constitution  are  taken  into  account,  the  undemocratic  nature 
of  the  instrument  is  still  more  apparent.  While  any  freeman 
— and  this  included  free  persons  of  color — who  paid  his  taxes 
was  qualified  to  vote  for  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
the  right  to  vote  for  a  member  of  the  Senate  was  restricted 
to  those  who  owned  a  freehold  of  50  acres.  Here  was  a  check 
upon  any  possible  radical  tendency  of  the  lower  house.  There 
was  little  need  to  fear  radicalism  there,  for,  in  order  to  avert 
any  possible  danger  of  such  a  thing,  it  was  required  that  no 
person  might  be  a  member  of  that  body  unless  he  possessed  in 
the  county  which  he  represented  not  less  than  one  hundred 
acres  of  land  in  fee  or  for  the  term  of  his  life.    In  order  that 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  11 

the  Senate  might  be  the  stronghold  of  the  landed,  and  hence, 
in  the  view  of  the  framers  of  the  constitution,  the  safe  class, 
no  person  could  be  a  senator  unless  he  possessed  in  the  county 
which  he  represented  not  less  than  300  acres  of  land  in  fee. 
The  governor,  endowed  with  no  power,  limited  in  practically 
every  official  act  by  the  Council  of  State,  and  entirely  de- 
pendent upon  the  legislature  which  chose  him  for  a  term  of 
one  year,  must  nevertheless  be  a  member  of  the  landed  class. 
"No  person  under  30  years  of  age,  and  who  has  not  been  a 
resident  of  this  State  above  five  years  and  having  in  the  State 
a  freehold  in  lands  and  tenements  above  the  value  of  one 
thousand  pounds,  shall  be  eligible  as  Governor." 

These  are  examples  of  the  undemocratic  provisions  of  the 
constitution  of  1776.  Others  worthy  of  note  were  the  pro- 
visions imposing  a  religious  test  for  office-holders,  designed 
to  exclude  not  only  atheists,  but  also  Jews  and  Roman  Cath- 
olics, and  prohibiting  any  minister  of  the  gospel  from  being 
a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  while  he  continued  in  the 
exercise  of  his  ministerial  functions. 

Nowhere  did  the  people  exert  any  influence  upon  the  gov- 
ernment save  in  the  election  of  the  General  Assembly.  This 
body  chose  the  governor  and  other  officers,  the  judges  being 
chosen  for  life.  There  were  no  state-wide  campaigns  and 
really  no  state-wide  issues.  Men  chosen  by  localities  for  local 
reasons  controlled  the  government  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  they  should  have  done  so  in  an  entirely  local  way. 
Often  the  people  in  remote  parts  of  the  State  had  never  heard 
the  name  of  the  man  selected  by  the  legislature  to  be  the 
chief  magistrate  of  the  commonwealth,  if  commonwealth  it 
could  be  called.  Under  the  constitution  there  was  no  way 
provided  for  amendment  and  the  reactionary  party  finally 
in  part  denied  that  the  constitution  could  be  amended.  It 
was  a  sacred  instrument,  adopted  by  the  fathers  for  all  time ; 
to  change  it  was  to  lay  hands  upon  the  ark  of  the  covenant, 
and  such  action  would  be  attended  with  every  evil  result  as 
a  penalty. 

The  movement  for  reform  which  finally  resulted  in  the 


12  James  Spkunt  Historical  Publications 

convention  of  1835  was  not  entirely  a  local  one,  although  it 
was  dominated  by  local  conditions.  The  West,  because  its 
vital  economic  interests  demanded  it,  desired  a  large  exten- 
sion of  the  activities  of  the  State.  It  wanted  highways  and 
railroads  connecting  it  with  the  East  to  furnish  an  outlet  for 
its  produce,  an  inlet  for  the  outside  products  that  it  wanted, 
and  as  a  means  of  communication  with  the  outside  world. 
One  statement  of  fact  will  sufficiently  sum  up  the  economic 
problem  which  confronted  the  West  during  this  period.  Salt 
brought  in  the  East  from  40  to  50  cents  a  bushel.  In  Iredell 
County,  which  used  over  five  hundred  bushels  annually,  it 
brought  $1.50.  The  same  was  true  of  every  commodity  in 
every  western  county.  The  West  wanted  relief  from  com- 
mercial dependence  upon  Virginia  and  South  Carolina  be- 
cause of  an  intense  state  feeling,  heightened  by  economic 
pressure.  It  wanted  a  system  of  public  education  that  its 
children  might  be  emancipated.  In  short  it  wanted  North 
Carolina  to  become  a  land  of  opportunity  that  the  exodus 
of  its  sons  to  other  States  might  be  checked.  In  spite  of  the 
fact  that  the  West  was  increasing  in  population  faster  than 
the  East,  its  loss  of  population  was  also  much  greater.  The 
loss  of  North  Carolina  was  appalling.  It  was  estimated  in 
1815  that  in  the  preceding  twenty-five  years  200,000  North 
Carolinians  had  gone  to  other  States  and  in  1819  Archibald 
D.  Murphey  expressed  the  belief  that  as  many  as  500,000 
had  gone  "to  people  the  Wilderness  of  the  West."  Judge 
Gaston  said  in  the  convention  that  the  case  of  North  Carolina 
was  the  reverse  of  that  of  the  lion's  den  in  the  fable ;  here  all 
the  tracks  led  away  and  none  came  back.  The  needs  of  the 
western  part  of  North  Carolina  excited  little  interest  or 
sympathy  in  the  East  where  conditions  were  very  different. 
Commercial  dependence  bothered  that  section  little.  Com- 
munication was  much  easier  for  obvious  reasons  and  the  eco- 
nomic system  based  upon  slavery  seemed  at  the  time  highly 
desirable.  Aristocratic  in  tendency  and  in  tradition,  it  also 
scorned  the  type  of  democracy  which  rapidly  came  to  the 
front  in  the  West. 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  13 

For  it  was  to  democracy  that  the  West  came  through  eco- 
nomic pressure  and  to  a  less  degree  through  the  natural 
tendency  of  the  frontier.  And  so  this  movement  for  reform 
while  local  in  its  inception  may  properly  be  regarded  as  a 
part  of  the  rise  of  that  new  and  militant  democracy  which  we 
best  know  by  the  name  Jacksonian.  But  because  its  animus 
and  impetus  were  largely  local  the  movement  lagged  behind 
that  which  appeared  in  many  of  the  other  States,  nor  did  it 
go  as  far.  Neither,  be  it  said,  did  it  affiliate  with  Jacksonian 
Democracy  politically. 

The  convention  of  1835,  while  its  work  was  really  a  com- 
promise, took  a  number  of  genuinely  progressive  and  demo- 
cratic steps.  It  abolished  the  county  unit  of  representation 
and  created  a  new  system.  The  House  of  Commons  hence- 
forth was  to  consist  of  120  members  apportioned  according  to 
population,  but  every  county,  regardless  of  population,  was 
entitled  to  one  representative.  As  there  were  only  64  coun- 
ties at  that  time,  the  retention  of  the  county  as  the  primary 
unit  did  not  greatly  interfere  with  the  representative  char- 
acter of  the  body.  The  East  still  retained  its  advantage  and 
as  federal  population  included  three-fifths  of  the  slave  pop- 
ulation, the  advantage  was  increased.  The  county  basis  was 
entirely  abolished  for  the  Senate  thenceforth  to  be  composed 
of  50  members,  and  a  district  basis  substituted,  the  districts 
being  laid  off  according  to  the  value  of  property  listed  for 
taxes.  Here  again  the  advantage  was  potentially  with  the 
East. 

The  most  democratic  steps  taken  by  the  convention  were 
the  emancipation  of  the  governorship  from  the  legislature 
by  putting  the  election  of  the  chief  executive  in  the  hands 
of  the  people,  and  the  adoption  of  a  regular  method  of  amend- 
ment of  the  constitution.  Significant,  too,  of  the  new  spirit 
was  the  submission  of  the  changes  made  by  the  convention  to 
the  people  for  ratification.  Another  step  of  somewhat  the 
same  nature  was  the  abolition  of  the  restriction  upon  Roman 
Catholics,  but  no  relief  was  given  to  Jews  or  other  non-Chris- 
tians.   The  old  practice  of  annual  elections  was  abolished,  in 


14  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

spite  of  the  protests  and  even  tears  of  Nathaniel  Macon,  who 
thought  he  saw  the  foundations  of  the  temple  of  liberty  fall- 
ing about  him,  and  a  biennial  system  was  substituted,  accom- 
panied by  biennial  sessions  of  the  legislature.  As  the  ex- 
penses at  that  time  of  the  legislature  ranged  from  a  fourth  to 
more  than  a  half  of  the  total  expenditure  of  the  State,  this 
was  an  exceedingly  important  step.  But  the  property  quali- 
fications of  the  members  of  the  legislature  and  the  governor 
remained  unchanged  as  did  the  freehold  qualification  for 
voting  for  senators.  The  right  to  vote  was  taken  away  from 
free  persons  of  color. 

Governor  Swain  submitted  the  amended  constitution  to 
the  people  in  November.  Every  eastern  county  but  one, 
Granville,  voted  to  reject,  and  of  course  every  western  county 
voted  for  ratification.  The  majority  for  ratification  was 
5,165.  The  election  on  the  amendments,  if  one  might  judge 
from  the  newspapers,  excited  but  little  general  interest.  The 
truth  is  that  the  press  and  the  people  did  not  think  in  state- 
wide terms.  There  was  no  party  issue  here  and  while  doubt- 
less there  was  much  local  discussion  in  every  county,  it  did 
not  appear  in  the  press. 

Unquestionably  the  reforms  of  1835  had  many  interest- 
ing and  important  effects  outside  the  field  of  politics.  A  vol- 
ume might  be  written  on  the  one  subject  of  internal  improve- 
ments and  another  on  education  as  affected  by  these  reforms. 
But  as  the  general  subject  limits  the  discussion  here  to  poli- 
tics, it  is  well  to  look  at  the  matter  from  that  standpoint 
alone.  Nowhere  were  the  effects  more  immediate,  more 
interesting  and  more  revolutionary. 

Up  to  this  time  North  Carolina  never  had  had  an  oppor- 
tunity in  state  affairs  for  united  party  action  and  party  ex- 
pression. As  a  matter  of  fact  prior  to  1835  there  was  in  North 
Carolina  no  state  party  organization ;  there  was  only  a  state 
of  mind.  In  presidential  elections  there  had  been  more  or 
less  spasmodic  and  rudimentary  attempts  at  organization,  but 
state  politics  was  entirely  localized  with  in  the  counties.  The 
disastrous  effects  can  readily  be  imagined.    No  real  progress 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  15 

was  possible  under  such  a  system.  The  best  approach  to  po- 
litical union,  therefore,  that  had  hitherto  been  possible  had 
been  a  bitter  sectionalism  which  still  further  paralyzed  every 
attempt  at  progress  and  which  had  driven  thousands  from  the 
State.  A  stamp  was  then  placed  upon  North  Carolina 
politics,  the  effects  of  which  survived  for  many  years,  if 
indeed  we  may  yet  speak  in  the  past  tense. 

This  was  now  changed.  The  gubernatorial  elections  be- 
gan united  and  state-wide  party  politics  which  more  than  any 
other  influence  checked  localism  within  North  Carolina  so 
far  as  it  was  checked.  It  made  necessary  the  party  conven- 
tion and  the  effective  party  organization,  which  while  pos- 
sibly outgrown  and  hence  unpopular  now,  were,  neverthe- 
less, at  that  time  the  best  instruments  then  devised  for 
expressing  the  collective  will  of  the  people,  and  they  were 
thus  genuinely  democratic.  The  convention  and  the  party 
organization  also  served  as  a  check  to  localism.  And  finally 
came  the  biennial  campaign  for  the  governorship,  which  with 
all  its  faults  was  a  great  educational  factor  as  well  as  an 
enemy  both  to  localism  and  to  sectionalism.  Out  of  it  came 
the  party  platform  and  party  responsibility  to  the  people, 
with  happy  effects  both  on  government  and  on  the  people. 
All  of  this  did  not  come  at  once.  It  was  some  years  before 
there  was  a  frank  recognition  of  the  fact  of  party  govern- 
ment during  which  time  it  was  still  the  custom  to  deplore 
the  rise  of  party  spirit.  Sectionalism  still  remained  and  still 
remains;  localism  still  remained  and  still  remains;  political 
ignorance  was  still  present  and  has  never  disappeared;  but 
North  Carolina  ceased  to  be  a  decadent  community.  Its 
progress  was  slow  as  compared  with  many  of  the  States,  but  it 
moved  forward  and  it  has  never  retrograded.  The  era  of 
parties  has  been  the  era  of  progress.  Much  of  this  was  due 
to  the  fact  that  party  division  was  close,  for  each  acted  not 
only  as  a  restraint  upon  the  other  but  also  as  a  spur.  The 
tracks  still  pointed  away  from  the  door  but  there  were  hardly 
as  many  tracks.  The  penny-wise  policy,  characteristic  of  the 
old  regime,  was  not  abandoned,  but  it  was  modified  seriously 


16  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

as  with  genuine  democratic  spirit  the  people  learned  the 
needs  of  the  State  and  began  to  recognize  the  responsibilities 
of  a  commonwealth.  The  hatred  of  taxation,  however  bene- 
ficial the  results  might  be,  remained  still  to  confound  the 
plans  of  those  leaders  who  dreamed  of  a  period  of  great  ex- 
pansion and  great  progress  in  which  the  people  of  the  State 
would  enter  upon  the  enjoyment  of  their  noble  heritage. 
This  fact  must  be  constantly  borne  in  mind  in  considering 
the  whole  of  the  following  period. 


OHAPTEE  II 
SOCIAL,  ECONOMIC,  AND  POLITICAL  BACKGROUND 

The  party  history  of  the  period  cannot  possibly  be  clearly 
understood  without  a  knowledge  of  the  social  and  economic 
conditions  of  the  State  at  its  beginning,  and,  in  addition,  a 
view  of  the  general  political  tendencies  of  the  people  will  be 
valuable.  Because  of  the  very  nature  of  the  conditions,  we 
unfortunately  have  all  too  small  a  record  of  them,  but  enough 
material  has  come  to  us  to  indicate  at  least  the  general  out- 
lines. 

In  1835  North  Carolina  was  almost  at  a  standstill  com- 
pared to  the  other  States.  The  checked  growth  in  population 
was  indicative  of  the  arrested  development  in  other  respects. 
Each  census  had  of  course  shown  a  growth  of  total  poulation, 
but  standing  third  in  relative  rank  in  this  respect  at  the  time 
of  the  first  census  in  1790,  in  1800  the  State  had  dropped 
to  fourth  place,  had  maintained  that  position  in  1810,  had 
dropped  to  fifth  in  1820,  and  in  1830  went  to  sixth  and  in 
1840  stood  seventh.     The  figures  are  as  follows: 

Census  Population  Increase 

1790 393,751 

1800 473,103 21.1 

1810 555,500 16.2 

1820 638,829 15. 

1830 737,987 15.5 

1840 753,419 2.1 

In  every  census  period  certain  counties  showed  a  loss.  In 
the  first  period  Bertie,  Caswell,  Craven,  Halifax,  Jones, 
Martin,  Mecklenburg,  Nash,  Pasquotank,  Tyrrell,  and 
Wilkes,  all  lost,  some  of  them  heavily ;  in  the  second,  Bertie, 
Bladen,  Halifax,  Hertford,  Sampson,  Tyrrell  and  Warren; 
in  the  third,  Bertie,  Chatham,  Franklin,  Greene,  Hyde,  and 
New  Hanover;  and  in  the  fourth,  Currituck  and  Rowan. 
It  remained  for  the  census  of  1840  to  show  the  desperate 
condition  in  which  the  State  really  was.     In  that  period  the 


18  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

following  counties,  31  out  of  a  total  of  68  lost:  Bertie,  Bruns- 
wick, Buncombe,  Burke,  Camden,  Carteret,  Caswell,  Chow- 
an, Columbus,  Craven,  Currituck,  Duplin,  Granville,  Hali- 
fax, Hertford,  Johnston,  Jones,  Lenoir,  Macon,  Martin, 
Mecklenburg,  Montgomery,  Northampton,  Onslow,  Pasquo- 
tank, -Person,  Pitt,  Richmond,  Rowan,  Tyrrell  and  Wash- 
ington. Of  course  some  of  these  losses  in  every  period  are  to 
be  explained  by  division  of  the  counties,  but  with  that  taken 
into  consideration,  the  situation  was  appalling.  Another 
disquieting  fact  in  connection  with  the  population  was  that 
the  negro  increase  was  more  rapid  than  the  white,  the  total 
growth  of  the  negro  population  from  1790  to  1840  being  an 
increase  of  154.4  per  cent  while  the  per  cent  of  increase  of 
the  white  was  only  64.4.     The  figures  are  as  follows: 

Per  Gent 

Census  of  1790 :  Increase 

White   288,204 

Free  Black 4,975 

Slave    100,572 

Census  of  1800 : 

White 337,764                 17.19 

Free  Black 7,043                  41.56 

Slave    133,296                  32.53 

Census  of  1810 : 

White   376,410                 11.44 

Free  Black 10,266                  45.75 

Slave    168,824                  26.65 

Census  of  1820 : 

White   419,200                  11.36 

Free  Black 14,612                  42.33 

Slave    205,017                 21.43 

Census  of  1830 : 

White   472,843                 12.79 

Free  Black 19,543                  33.74 

Slave    245,601                  19.79 

Census  of  1840 : 

White   484,870                   2.54 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  19 

Free  Black 22,732  16.31 

Slave    245,817  .08 

Tlie  explanation  of  this  slow  growth  did  not  lie  in  a  low 
birth  rate.  Although  vital  statistics  are  lacking,  there  is  no 
doubt  of  the  fecundity  of  North  Carolinians  of  that  day; 
large  families  were  the  rule  throughout  the  State.  Rather 
the  explanation  is  to  be  sought  in  the  steady  emigration  from 
the  State  to  the  West  and  South  and  in  the  absence  of  immi- 
gration; the  outside  world  offering  many  inducements  to 
North  Carolinians,  while  the  State  itself  offered  few  to  na- 
tives and  none  to  outsiders. 

That  such  was  the  case  is  not  wonderful.  Internal  con- 
ditions were  such  that  opportunity  was  denied  to  all  save  a 
favored  few.  Means  of  communication  were  lacking,  as  were 
the  means  of  education,  and  as  a  result,  with  every  natural 
resource  and  opportunity,  the  State  was  poor  and  steadily 
growing  poorer,  and  in  relative  rank  as  to  wealth  was  lower 
than  in  respect  to  population.  Not  only  was  it  poor,  however : 
it  was  worse.  It  was  ignorant.  And  its  ignorance  spread  like 
a  pall  over  the  whole  State  dwarfing  for  a  time  every  promise 
of  growth,  and  retarding  irresistibly  every  forward  move- 
ment. Joseph  Caldwell,  not  a  man  given  to  rash  speech,  said 
in  1829  that  North  Carolina  was  300  years  behind  the  rest 
of  the  world  in  enlightenment,  and  while  his  estimate  may 
have  been  excessive,  the  general  truth  contained  in  it  is  un- 
deniable. 

The  effects  of  the  poor  facilities  for  communication  and 
commerce  generally  have  already  been  intimated.  Transpor- 
tation cost  so  much  that  for  a  large  part  of  the  State  agri- 
culture, necessarily  the  main  resource  of  the  State  and 
particularly  so  because  of  the  presence  of  slavery,  was  pro- 
fitless save  to  furnish  one's  own  supplies.  A  barrel  of  flour 
in  1829  in  the  town  of  Hillsboro  just  about  paid  for  a  barrel 
of  salt.  Manifestly,  there  could  be  but  small  profit  in  grow- 
ing grain.  And  so  it  was  with  everything  else.  In  one  way 
grain  was  profitable,  and  so  grain  was  grown  and  fruit  was 


20  James  Sprtjnt  Historical,  Publications 

grown — to  furnish  food  for  the  distilleries,  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  which  poured  out  their  debauching  flood 
throughout  the  State.  In  1811  there  were  159  in  Edgecombe 
alone  and  more  than  50  in  Caswell.  It  is  scarcely  necessary 
to  add  that  drunkenness  was  common. 

While  the  prevailing  ignorance  and  the  sectional  strug- 
gle already  discussed  made  it  very  difficult  for  the  enlighten- 
ed to  accomplish  anything  towards  relieving  the  situation, 
the  State  was  nevertheless  affected  by  the  new  spirit  fol- 
lowing upon  the  war  of  1812,  and  in  1815  it  entered  upon 
a  policy  of  aiding  internal  improvements.  This  was 
done  under  the  inspiring  leadership  of  that  far-seeing  dream- 
er and  statesman,  Archibald  D.  Murphey.  In  consequence 
the  State  in  a  short  time  became  a  stockholder  in  a  large  num- 
ber of  companies  and  it  also  created  an  internal  improve- 
ment fund.  Thus  in  a  sense  the  State  became  committed  to  a 
policy  of  internal  improvement,  but  the  immediate  results 
were  far  from  encouraging,  since  most  of  the  enterprises 
failed  and  the  movement  for  a  time  received  a  set-back.  But 
the  agitation  was  productive  of  good  results  in  that  the  ma- 
jority of  the  newspapers  and  a  large  number  of  influential 
men  were  educated  by  it  and  became  firmly  committed  to  the 
cause. 

In  other  ways  the  State  was  little  affected.  Agriculture, 
even  in  the  East  where  the  problem  was  not  nearly  so  acute, 
still  remained  of  the  most  primitive  sort  and,  under  the 
blighting  curse  of  slave  labor  land  deteriorated  steadily  and 
rapidly.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  a  million  acres  and  more  of 
new  land  was  taken  up  between  1815  and  1833,  the  total 
value  of  the  land  was  less  at  the  later  date  by  $106,048.80. 
One  reason  for  this  will  be  discussed  later  in  another  con- 
nection, but  the  main  reason  is  to  be  found  in  the  words  of  the 
memorial  drawn  up  by  a  committee  of  an  internal  improve- 
ment convention  in  1833 :  "Her  wasted  fields,  her  deserted 
farms,  her  ruined  towns,  her  departing  sons,  all  reproach  us 
with  supine  neglect."  Wiley  in  1852  described  the  situation 
thus: 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  21 

A  purchaser  of  lands  could  easily  find  a  seller  in  almost  every 
owner;  indeed  almost  every  house  and  plantation  exhibited 
in  their  decaying  aspect  the  most  unmistakable  words,  "For 
Sale."  This  melancholy  sentence  was  ploughed  in  deep  black 
characters  upon  the  whole  State  and  even  the  flag  that  waved 
over  the  Capitol,  indicating  the  sessions  of  the  Assembly, 
was  regarded  by  our  neighbors  of  Virginia  and  South  Caro- 
lina as  an  auctioneer's  sign ! 

The  reward  of  labor  had  "ceased  to  be  a  stimulus  to  industry 
and  enterprise,"  and  so  a  steady  tide  of  emigration  rolled 
away  from  the  State  carrying  enterprise,  industry,  youth, 
and  ambition,  not  to  mention  the  actual  wealth  which  went  in 
their  wake  to  build  new  commonwealths  on  the  frontier  to 
the  lasting  impoverishment  of  the  old  mother  State.  A  gen- 
tleman in  Asheville  wrote  in  1827  that  every  day  saw  a  stream 
of  emigrants  moving  by,  sometimes  as  many  as  fifteen  wagons 
going  together  and  the  account  might  be  duplicated  many 
times. 

Educationally,  the  State  in  1835  was  scarcely  moving, 
if  indeed  there  was  any  movement.  That  in  part  explains  the 
failure  of  internal  improvements.  As  "Old  Field"  said  in 
the  Raleigh  Register  in  1833,  "The  people  will  have  to  learn 
to  spell  internal  improvements  before  they  can  comprehend 
the  meaning  of  the  term."  The  elaborate  plans  of  Murphey 
in  181 Y  failed,  but  in  1825  the  Literary  Fund  was  estab- 
lished, a  step  in  the  right  direction  it  is  true,  but  one  not 
highly  productive  at  first  except  to  the  legislature  which  year 
after  year  used  its  proceeds  to  pay  its.  own  members.  Year 
after  year  through  half  a  century  the  legislature  had  display- 
ed utter  apathy  toward  everything  which  meant  the  upbuild- 
ing of  the  State  and  its  people.  Its  time  was  consumed  with 
small  things  almost  entirely  and  in  the  playing  of  what  we 
call  at  a  later  date  "peanut  politics."  Its  expenses  mean- 
while, were  nearly  always  more  than  half  the  total  expendi- 
ture of  the  government.  In  his  last  message  to  the  legisla- 
ture in  1836,  Governor  Swain  said: 

"The  history  of  our  State  legislation  during  the  first  half 


22  James  Spktjnt  Historical  Publications 

century  of  our  political  existence,  will  exhibit  little  more 
to  posterity  than  the  annual  imposition  of  taxes  amounting 
to  less  than  $100,000,  one-half  of  which  constituted  the  re- 
ward of  the  legislative  bodies  by  which  they  were  levied, 
while  the  remainder  was  applied  to  sustain  the  train  of 
officers  who  superintend  the  machinery  of  government.  The 
establishment  of  schools  for  the  convenient  instruction  of 
youth,  and  the  development  of  our  internal  resources  by 
means  beyond  the  reach  of  individual  enterprise,  will  seem 
scarcely  to  have  been  regarded  as  proper  objects  of  legislative 
concern. 

In  the  State  in  1835,  there  was  not  one  school  house 
for  every  15  miles  square,  not  a  single  high  school,  and  only 
a  few  good  academies,  the  whole  number  of  the  latter  being 
certainly  less  than  half  and  possibly  less  than  a  third  of  the 
number  of  counties.  In  1811  while  two-thirds  of  the  adult 
white  population  of  Edgecombe  County  could  read,  only 
one-half  the  adult  white  males  and  less  than  one-third  of  the 
women  could  write.  In  the  whole  State,  according  to  Wiley, 
nearly  every  tenth  white  man  was  totally  illiterate  and  nearly 
one-half  the  white  people  of  every  county  were  uneducated. 
The  people  had  no  thirst  for  knowledge ;  in  many  cases  it  was 
dreaded,  despised,  and  hated.  We  are  again  indebted  to 
Wiley  for  an  expressive  description.     Said  he : 

The  educated  and  uneducated  grew  up  with  a  carefully  in- 
culcated dislike  for  home — the  latter  looking  to  other  States 
as  opening  wider  fields  for  exertion  in  the  race  for  improve- 
ment; the  former  taught  to  believe  that  talents  and  require- 
ments could  not  be  appreciated  in  North  Carolina.  It  is  no 
exaggeration  to  say  that  the  State  was  a  great  encampment 
while  the  inhabitants  looked  upon  themselves  as  tented  only 
for  a  season  and  every  year  the  highways  were  crowded  with 
hundreds  of  emigrants  whose  sacrifices  and  losses  in  selling 
out  and  moving  would  have  paid  for  20  years  their  share  of 
public  taxes  sufficient  to  have  given  to  their  homes  all  the 
fancied  advantages  of  those  regions  where  they  went. 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  23 

The  results  were  just  those  to  be  expected,  and  well  might 
Robert  Potter  say  in  the  Legislature  of  1836  in  his  strong 
and  statesmanlike  speech  advocating  the  passage  of  his  bill 
for  the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  college  in  the  State: 

I  will  not  say  North  Carolina  is  a  great  State  and  I  am 
proud  of  her  because  she  is  not.  ...  If  the  genius  of 
North  Carolina  were  now  to  present  herself  to  you,  who 
are  charged  with  the  destinies  of  her  people,  instead  of  the 
majesty  of  a  guardian  goddess — instead  of  a  radiant  brow, 
and  an  eye  flashing  light  and  dignity  on  this  assembly,  you 
would  mark  her  with  a  pallid  front,  and  "sad  and  shrouded 
eye,"  and  in  the  hollow  accents  of  despair,  she  would  demand 
of  you,  "Why  sit  ye  here  all  the  while  idle  ?"  Why  assemble 
here  from  session  to  session  and  expend  your  time  upon 
ephemeral  objects  while  you  neglect  the  very  salvation  of 
the  Republic  ?  Why  meet  you  here  from  year  to  year  to 
scuffle  over  subjects  unimportant  to  the  public  and  trifling  in 
themselves,  or  to  squabble  about  the  disposition  of  a  clerkship 
or  a  judgeship  whilst  the  people  for  whom  all  this  is  intended 
— for  whose  benefit  Government  was  established,  laws  erect- 
ed, and  judges  appointed — whilst  the  people  are  left  to  rust 
in  primeval  ignorance — "rotting  from  sire  to  son  and  from 
age  to  age,"  deaf  as  the  adder  and  dark  as  Erebus  ?  She 
would  tell  you  you  were  a  degraded  and  despised  community ; 
but  only  so  because  you  would  be  so. 

Let  us  now  look  at  some  of  the  aspects  of  the  case  other 
than  those  already  mentioned.  We  have  seen  the  general 
character  of  the  legislature  during  the  period  and  we  need  no 
further  information  to  be  certain  that  the  system  of  taxation 
was  inequitable  as  well  as  inefficient.  Its  inefficiency  made 
it  dear  to  the  people  for  they  wanted  no  other  sort,  but  they 
nevertheless  complained  bitterly  of  the  system  and  made  its 
inequity  an  excuse  for  the  most  widespread  and  shamelessly 
open  evasion  and  fraud.  Much  of  the  land  was  not  listed  at 
all  and  much  more  was  greatly  undervalued.  The  poll  tax 
— most  inequitable  of  all  taxes — played  a  large  part  in  the 
system,  bringing  in  more  than  the  land,  but  thousands  of 
slaves  were  not  listed  for  it.     It  is  doubtful  if  ever  another 


24  James  Spkunt  Historical  Publications 

community  hated  taxation  as  did  the  North  Carolina  of  that 
period,  and  so  no  legislature  would  have  dared  reform  the 
system  even  had  they  ever  felt  any  inclination  to  do  so,  just 
as  no  legislature  dared  to  spend  money.  The  attitude  of  the 
small  politicians  of  the  period — and  most  of  the  politicians 
were  of  the  small  variety — towards  the  spread  of  enlighten- 
ment is  interesting.  No  plain  citizen  from  outside  the  po-. 
litical  group  could  ever  call  one  of  them  to  account  or  tell  the 
truth  about  one,  without  the  likelihood  of  an  impassioned 
statement  from  the  quasi-statesman  concerned  that  his  ac- 
cuser was  striking  a  blow  at  the  liberties  of  the  people  through 
the  party  which  he  himself  represented;  while  no  one  was 
able  to  speak  the  truth  as  to  the  condition  of  the  State  without 
the  probability  of  being  accused  of  a  lack  of  patriotism,  of 
falsehood,  or  of  worse. 

In  the  State  in  1832  were  twenty-five  newspapers,  distrib- 
uted as  follows :  one  each  in  Rutherf ordton,  Charlotte,  Salem, 
Greensboro,  Hillsboro,  Milton,  Wilmington,  Washington, 
Tarboro,  Edenton,  Halifax,  Windsor,  Oxford,  and  War- 
renton;  and  two  each  in  Salisbury,  Eayetteville,  New 
Bern  and  Elizabeth  City.  Raleigh  had  three.  Not  nearly  the 
whole  number,  however,  could  be  regarded  as  at  all  perma- 
nent and  all  had  very  small  subscription  lists  because  in  truth 
North  Carolina  had  no  reading  public,  not  even  a  public  that 
read  newspapers.  Another  interesting  indication  along  some- 
what the  same  line  is  furnished  by  the  postal  receipts  of  the 
State.  In  1831  the  total  receipts  from  North  Carolina  were 
$28,750,  while  in  Virginia  they  were  $84,078,  in  South 
Carolina  $47,993,  in  Tennessee  $31,423,  and  in  Georgia 
$54,233. 

There  were,  however,  certain  hopeful  signs,  some  of  which 
have  been  mentioned  already.  In  1835  the  religious  condition 
of  the  State  was  better  than  it  had  ever  been  and  was  improv- 
ing rapidly.  The  Baptist  State  Convention  had  just  been 
founded,  the  Episcopal  Church  long  in  a  seemingly  hopeless 
state  of  depression  and  apparently  moribund,  was  reviving, 
and  the  Methodist  and  Presbyterian  communions  were  ex- 


Party  Politics  iist  North  Carolina  25 

tending  their  influence  widely.  In  many  ways  the  moral  and 
humane  sense  of  the  people  was  beginning  to  manifest  itself 
as  in  the  movement  against  maiming,  corporal  punishment 
and  imprisonment  for  debt ;  for  a  penitentiary,  for  an  insane 
asylum,  and  a  school  for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  and  for 
temperance. 

Coming  finally  to  political  conditions,  we  find  that  they 
bore  a  normal  relation  to  the  social  and  economic  conditions. 
Hugh  McQueen  in  his  address  before  the  literary  societies  of 
the  University  in  1838  made  this  enlightening  statement: 

Every  unfledged  nestling  in  politics  turns  with  an  aye  of 
solicitation  to  a  seat  in  the  State  Legislature.  Every  poli- 
tician of  mature  age,  whose  character  is  not  in  a  positive 
degree  insufferable  is  looking  forward  with  tumultuous  eager- 
ness to  a  place  in  the  Hall  of  National  Representatives,  to  a 
situation  in  one  of  the  Cabinet  departments,  or  in  the  diplo- 
matic service  of  the  country.  Every  decent  citizen  is  panting 
for  some  post  of  public  preferment  and  profit,  those  who  have 
not  been  sufficiently  fortunate  to  obtain  any  other  post  are 
posting  their  way  with  a  provident  share  of  speed  to  the 
Republic  of  Texas.  Politics,  indeed,  appear  to  swallow  every 
other  interest,  and  the  whole  surface  of  the  earth  seems  cov- 
ered with  politicians  as  Egypt  once  swarmed  with  locusts. 

In  spite  of  all  the  interest  which  the  people  of  North 
Carolina  felt  in  politics,  there  was  no  sense  of  responsibility 
for  the  needs  of  the  State;  such  was  the  indifference  that 
usually  there  was  scarcely  a  pretense  of  interest  in  the  sub- 
ject. Patriotism  may  have  been  present  in  the  people — in 
view  of  the  later  history  of  the  State  undoubtedly  was — 
but  it  was  the  type  of  patriotism  that  makes  a  people  ready 
and  even  willing  to  die  for  the  State,  but  not  to  live  for  it. 
In  war  they  could  be  heroic  with  a  simplicity  which  is  one  of 
the  attributes  of  greatness ;  in  peace,  they  could  not  even  be, 
or  rather  were  not,  good  citizens  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the 
term.  Civic  responsibility,  civic  pride,  and  civic  ambition 
all  were  lacking.     The  question  why  this  was  so  is  fairly 


26  James  Spetjnt  Historical  Publications 

easily  answered.  Quoting  Doctor  Wiley  again,  "Down  to  the 
period  of  the  Revolution,  the  people  of  North  Carolina  were 
united  in  nothing  but  in  dislike  of  the  reigning  powers; 
were  bound  together  by  no  general  sympathies  except  a  com- 
mon love  of  liberty."  This  had  unquestionably  formed  a 
state  habit  of  mind.  At  the  period  of  which  we  speak,  the 
State  as  a  whole  was  ignorant,  shockingly  so,  even  for  that 
time,  and  ignorance  bred  a  type  of  individualism  that  knew 
nothing  of  community  spirit  and  that  apparently  could  not 
develop  it.  The  only  community  sense  that  the  mass  of  the 
people  of  the  State  possessed  in  this  period  was  a  universal 
desire  to  be  let  alone  and  permitted  to  "gang  their  ain  gait" 
and  a  common  hatred  of  any  movement  which  might  require 
the  raising  of  taxes.  Herein  lies  the  explanation  of  the  po- 
litical and  social  immobility  of  the  State.  It  was  this  which 
made  exiles  of  thousands  of  her  sons  who  were  ambitious  for 
themselves  and  their  community.  It  was  this  condition 
which  made  North  Carolina,  in  the  words  of  Henry  Clay,  "a 
good  State  to  come  from,"  and  which  gave  South  Carolinians, 
and  a  little  later  Virginians,  under  their  breath,  the  oppor- 
tunity to  call  North  Carolina  "the  Rip  Van  Winkle  of  the 
States."  It  was  this  that  made  many  forward-looking  North 
Carolinians  bitter;  that  made  Archibald  D.  Murphey  write 
in  1819  to  Thomas  Ruffin: 

I  am  getting  disgusted  with  North  Carolina;  and  if  things 
do  not  change  for  the  better,  I  shall  quit  the  State  as  soon  as 
I  get  my  debts  paid  off.  I  have  just  completed  a  paper  for 
the  principal  engineer  on  the  ways  and  means  for  making 
her  a  great  State.  But  I  see  clearly  that  it  is  all  idle  labor, 
at  least  for  this  generation.  Those  who  labor  now  will  meet 
with  nothing  but  vexation,  chagrin  and  disgust.  Another 
generation  will  profit  by  their  labors.  The  spirit  of  the 
present  is  radically  mean  and  grovelling. 

Another  example  of  the  same  feeling  is  contained  in  the 
following  quotation  from  a  letter  written  by  a  North  Caro- 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  27 

linian  living  in  the  far  South  to  a  brother  who  was  still  in  the 
State : 

I  congratulate  you  upon  your  appointment.  I  hope  it  will 
not  turn  your  head,  as  I  do  not  think  that  any  honor  North 
Carolina  can  bestow  should  have  that  effect  upon  any  one  so 
well  poised  as  you,  and  who  is  so  conscious  of  the  perfect  con- 
tempt excited  by  her  niggardly  policy  and  dearth  of  high  and 
ennobling  patriotism.  I  was  almost  in  hopes  that  her  wise 
men  would  have  abolished  her  Supreme  Court,  and  by  that 
means  have  driven  from  the  State  the  eminent  men  who  yet 
linger  within  her  limits,  thereby  leaving  her  barren  of  talent 
and  a  prey  to  the  silly  demagogues  who  rule  her  destinies. 

This  then  was  the  condition  that  confronted  the  real  lead- 
ers of  the  period.  Not  all  the  great  men  produced  by  North 
Carolina  left  the  State.  There  were  many  among  those  who 
remained  who  dreamed  great  dreams  for  the  State,  who  saw 
clearly  and  with  a  statesman's  vision.  As  far  as  the  people 
themselves  were  concerned  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the 
homely  and  individual  virtues  were  possessed  by  them  in  a 
high  degree.  They  were  honest  to  the  core,  save  where  taxes 
were  concerned,  simple  and  unassuming,  in  the  main  in- 
dustrious, and  on  the  whole  God-fearing.  Their  lack  was  a 
community  lack  of  breadth  of  view  and  community  con- 
sciousness. 

In  December,  1837,  over  the  signature  of  "Mentor,"  a 
prominent  North  Carolinian  began  a  series  of  articles  which 
ran  in  the  Standard  during  several  months.  In  them  was 
displayed  a  remarkably  clear  understanding  of  the  defects  in 
the  attitude  of  the  people.     The  first  paper  began : 

It  is  discouraging  to  witness  the  apathy  which  prevails 
in  North  Carolina  about  all  State  affairs.  There  is  no  sub- 
ject connected  with  the  operations  of  the  General  Govern- 
ment which  does  not  enlist  the  zeal  of  our  politicians  and 
command  the  attention  of  those  who  have  leisure  to  discuss 
it ;  whilst  the  more  immediate  concerns  of  the  people  of  North 
Carolina  are  wholly  disregarded,  or  else  noticed  in  a  manner 


28  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

that  is  even  stronger  proof  of  indifference  than  absolute 
silence.  I  do  not  complain  that  the  politics  of  the  Nation 
attracts  attention.  Far  from  it.  But  my  complaint  is  that 
there  is  a  general  indifference  to  the  policy  of  the  State; 
that  the  latter  is  wholly  absorbed  by  the  former  interest. 

If  a  sense  of  duty  and  feelings  of  patriotism  ever  move  a 
public  man  of  this  State  to  venture  upon  any  plans  for  her 
aggrandizement — to  throw  himself  against  a  current  of  nar- 
row prejudices,  strengthened  by  long  habit;  what  is  the  sup- 
port our  press  gives  him  in  the  struggle  ?  That  portion  of  it 
which  agrees  with  him  in  National  politics  perhaps  may  send 
forth  one  or  two  plaudits,  whilst  the  other  is  satisfied  with 
an  exhibition  of  extraordinary  liberalty  in  venturing  to 
believe  that  he  is  really  more  honest  and  patriotic  than  they 
had  believed  was  possible  in  any  man  of  his  politics. 

A  later  number  of  the  series  contained  the  following : 

I  am  unable  to  assign  all  the  reasons  for  it,  yet  the  fact  is 
undeniable  that  our  State  in  general  exhibits  a  lively  sensi- 
bility of  late  years  to  the  question  of  who  shall  be  our  next 
President  whilst  her  own  leading  men  manifest  little  anxiety 
about  what  is  to  be  the  destiny  of  North  Carolina.  We  are 
all  in  theory  advocates  of  State  rights  and  yet  we  do  not  seem 
to  consider  that  State  rights  are  secure  only  when  there  are 
State  interest  to  protect.  We  deprecate  the  patronage  and 
power  of  the  national  government,  (I  speak  not  of  this  or  that 
Administration)  whilst  there  are  few  if  any  who  do  not 
greatly  enlarge  that  patronage  and  increase  that  power  by 
infusing  into  all  our  State  elections  the  party  politics  of  the 
general  government.  We  can  reckon  to  a  man  the  sentiments 
of  our  State  representatives  in  reference  to  those  questions  of 
National  policy  that  divide  us  into  parties ;  but  I  doubt  if  the 
best  informed  men  on  such  topics  can  tell  the  opinions  of  any 
10  members  of  the  next  Assembly  upon  any  great  question 
of  our  State  affairs.  We  spend  our  time,  talents,  and  money, 
to  denounce  the  encroachments  of  Federal  power;  to  uphold 
or  oppose  the  policy  that  is  recommended  by  our  National 
officers,  and  I  do  not  complain  of  it ;  popular  vigilance  is  the 
best  security  for  public  liberty ;  but  we  leave  little  or  no  time, 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  29 

we  give  no  portion  of  our  talents  or  money  to  advocate  the 
interests  of  North  Carolina,  and  establish  a  policy  for  the 
State. 

These  two  paragraphs  best  describe  the  basis  of  politics 
in  North  Carolina  in  1835  and  for  some  years  thereafter. 

With  this  view  of  the  general  situation  in  North  Caro- 
lina we  can  turn  our  attention  to  party  development. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1836 

The  North  Carolina  legislature  of  1835  was  elected  while 
the  convention  was  still  in  session  and  met  before  the  result 
of  the  ratification  election  was  known.  The  Democrats,  or 
the  friends  of  Jackson's  administration,  as  it  is  proper  to 
call  them,  since  that  was  the  dividing  line  of  parties,  were  in 
a  large  majority  in  each  house  and  elected  their  candidates 
for  speakers  without  difficulty,  William  D.  Moseley  of  Le- 
noir, being  chosen  in  the  Senate  and  William  H.  Haywood 
of  Wake,  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight, 
Jr.,  was  chosen  governor  over  William  B.  Meares.  Many 
of  the  party  desired  Moseley  for  governor,  but  he  declined 
even  to  consider  being  a  candidate.  Governor  Spaight 
came  of  a  distinguished  family,  being  the  son  of  Richard 
Dobbs  Spaight,  who  besides  being  governor  himself,  had 
played  a  very  prominent  part  in  the  political  life  of  the  State 
during  the  preceding  generation.  He  had  been  killed  some 
years  before  in  a  duel  with  John  Stanly.  The  son  was  edu- 
cated at  the  University  where  he  graduated  in  1815.  He 
became  a  lawyer  and  almost  at  once  entered  politics,  being 
elected  to  the  House  of  Commons  in  1819.  He  then  served 
three  years  in  the  Senate.  He  had  also  been  one  term  in  Con- 
gress from  1823  to  1825.  From  that  time  he  served  con- 
tinuously in  the  state  senate  until  his  election  as  governor. 
He  had  twice  been  defeated  for  speaker  and  he  had  also  been 
a  receptive  candidate  for  governor  and  for  United  States 
senator  in  1830.  At  first,  like  most  eastern  men,  he  had 
strongly  opposed  a  convention,  but  he  became  converted  and 
the  bill  was  finally  passed  largely  through  his  influence.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  convention  and  was  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  rules  which  acted  as  a  steering  committee.  He 
was  not  a  candidate  for  governor  at  the  time  of  his  election 
and  in  fact  did  not  know  that  his  name  was  to  be  presented. 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  31 

He  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  Van  Buren  which  was  in 
North  Carolina  the  final  test  of  good  Democracy. 

Strong  as  the  Democrats  were  in  the  legislature,  the  con- 
gressional elections  of  1835  gave  much  encouragement  to 
their  opponents.  Of  the  delegation  of  thirteen,  the  Whigs 
elected  seven.  William  B.  Shepherd  of  Pasquotank,  Ebenezer 
Pettigrew  of  Washington,  Edmund  Deberry  of  Montgomery, 
Augustine  H.  Shepperd  of  Stokes,  Abraham  Bencher  of 
Chatham,  James  Graham  of  Rutherford,  and  Lewis  Williams 
of  Surry.  The  Democratic  members  were  Jesse  A.  Bynum 
of  Halifax,  Jesse  Speight  of  Greene,  James  J.  McKay  of 
Bladen,  M.  T.  Hawkins  of  Warren,  William  Montgomery  of 
Orange,  and  Henry  W.  Connor  of  Catawba.  And  in  North 
Carolina  at  this  time,  the  complexion  of  the  congressional 
delegation  was  regarded  as  of  tremendous  importance,  and 
victory  there  was  usually  of  far  greater  interest  than  carry- 
ing a  state  election. 

An  explanation  of  the  situation  in  the  State  as  con- 
cerns national  affairs  will  not  only  make  the  reasons  for 
this  attitude  clear,  but  will  also  best  serve  to  explain  the 
whole  political  situation.  North  Carolina  had  not  accepted 
Jackson  unreservedly  and  many  of  his  acts  had  alienated 
whole  sections  of  his  followers.  This  was  particularly 
true  of  his  action  in  the  case  of  nullification  in  South 
Carolina,  and  to  a  much  greater  degree,  of  his  de- 
struction of  the  United  States  Bank.  As  far  as  nullification 
itself  was  concerned,  there  was  really  but  little  division  of 
sentiment,  but  opinion  varied  as  to  the  President's  method 
of  meeting  it.  In  respect  to  the  bank,  North  Carolina  feeling 
had  changed  greatly  in  the  years  which  had  intervened  since 
its  creation.  At  first  universally  suspected  and  even  hated, 
in  recent  years  it  had  been  gaining  ground  steadily.  Branches 
had  been  established  in  the  more  important  places  and  of 
greater  import,  men  like  Mangum  and  Gaston  favoring  it 
threw  the  weight  of  their  influence  in  its  behalf  and  senti- 
ment for  it  spread.  The  matter  now  brought  about  an  in- 
teresting and  important  series  of  happenings. 


32  James  Sprttnt  Historical  Publications 

Willie  P.  Mangum  was  at  this  time  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant figures  in  the  political  life  of  North  Carolina.  Born 
in  Orange  County,  May  10,  1792,  he  was  prepared  for  college 
in  Fayetteville  and  Raleigh,  and  graduated  at  the  University 
in  1815.  Studying  law  with  Judge  Duncan  Cameron  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1817  and  was  immediately  suc- 
cessful, but  his  inclinations  were  all  towards  politics  and  in 
1818  and  again  in  1819  he  was  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Commons  from  Orange  and  took  a  prominent  place.  In 
1819,  two  years  after  he  received  his  license,  he  was  elected  a 
judge  of  the  Superior  Court  over  George  E.  Badger  and 
William  Norwood,  but  only  remained  on  the  bench  for  one 
year.  In  1823  he  defeated  Daniel  L.  Barringer  for  Con- 
gress and  was  re-elected  in  1825,  defeating  Rev.  Josiah  Cro- 
dup,  a  Baptist  minister  and  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
politicians  in  the  State.  In  1824  Mangum  was  a  strong  sup- 
porter of  Crawford  for  the  presidency  and  voted  for  him 
when  the  election  went  to  the  House  of  Representatives.  In 
March,  1826,  he  resigned  and  in  August  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Burton  to  the  Superior  bench  to  succeed  Judge 
Paxton,  but  the  legislature  failed  to  confirm  the  election  and 
chose  Robert  Strange.  In  1828  he  was  an  elector  on  the 
Jackson  ticket,  and  was  a  strong  Jackson  supporter.  In  the 
same  year  he  was  chosen  without  opposition  to  succeed 
Thomas  Puffin  on  the  Superior  bench  and  served  until  1830 
when  he  resigned  to  become  a  candidate  for  United  States 
senator.  He  withdrew  in  favor  of  Iredell  as  far  as  Macon's 
vacant  seat  was  concerned  but  in  1830  he  was  elected  over 
Governor  John  Owen,  Judge  John  R.  Donnell,  Richard  D. 
Spaight,  and  Montford  Stokes.  He  was  at  this  time  still  a 
Jackson  man,  but  as  time  went  on,  he  drifted  away  from 
Jackson  and  the  Democratic  party.  He  was  not  a  protection- 
ist and  so  was  not  in  full  sympathy  with  Henry  Clay,  but 
while  not  a  nullifier,  he  opposed  Jackson's  South  Carolina 
policy  and  violently  opposing  his  bank  policy,  voted  for  the 
resolution  of  censure.  As  North  Carolina  Democrats  made 
support  of  Jackson  and  consequent  hatred  of  the  bank  and  of 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  33 

nullification  not  only  cardinal  virtues,  but  required  doctrine, 
Mangum  was  soon  entirely  out  of  sympathy  with  the  Jackson 
wing  of  the  old  Republican  party,  and  when  the  legislature  of 
1834,  after  a  very  long  and  most  bitterly  contested  struggle 
instructed  him  and  his  colleague,  Bedford  Brown,  to  vote  for 
Benton's  resolution  to  expunge  the  resolution  of  censure,  he 
denied  absolutely  the  right  of  the  General  Assembly  to  take 
such  action  and  announced  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate  his  in- 
tention of  ignoring  the  instructions  as  of  no  validity.  Bed- 
ford Brown,  on  the  other  hand,  accepted  the  instructions, 
which  accorded  with  his  inclinations,  and  endorsed  the  prin- 
ciple involved.  His  term  expired  at  this  session  and  he  was 
triumphantly  re-elected. 

Bedford  Brown  was  scarcely  a  less  striking  figure  in 
North  Carolina  politics  than  Mangum.  Born  in  Caswell 
County  in  1792,  he  was  a  student  at  the  University  for  one 
year,  and  the  next,  1815,  he  was  elected  to  the  House  of 
Commons  from  Caswell  along  with  Romulus  M.  Saunders, 
another  prominent  figure  of  the  time,  and  served  for  three 
terms.  He  was  a  member  of  the  House  again  in  1823,  and 
in  1828  was  elected  to  the  state  Senate  to  succeed  Bartlett 
Yancey.  The  following  year  he  was  re-elected  and  was 
chosen  speaker,  and  while  filling  that  position,  a  deadlock 
having  occurred  in  the  election  of  a  United  States  senator 
to  succeed  John  Branch  who  had  entered  Jackson's  cabinet 
as  secretary  of  the  navy,  he  was  elected  to  the  position.  He 
was  already  a  strong  supporter  of  Jackson  and  while  in  the 
Senate  became  his  close  personal  friend. 

The  difference  between  the  views  of  the  two  senators  gives 
a  good  idea  of  the  opinions  of  the  two  factions  in  North 
Carolina  soon  to  become  political  parties.  Brown  was  a  strict 
constructionist  and  a  strong  State's  rights  man  of  views  very 
similar  to  those  of  Nathaniel  Macon.  This  type  formed  the 
Democratic  party.  Mangum,  on  the  other  hand,  represented 
the  latitudinarian,  anti-Jackson,  pro-bank  group  which  soon 
formed  the  Whig  party.  Brown's  supporters  were  mainly  in 
the  east  and  hence  were  those  who  had  fairly  consistently 


34  James  Sprujstt  Historical  Publications 

opposed  constitutional  reform  in  the  State,  while  Mangum 
found  his  chief  support  in  the  West  which  had  supported 
Jackson  in  1824  but  abandoned  him  after  1828,  largely  be- 
cause the  East  had  turned  a  somersault  and  accepted  him. 
The  West,  therefore,  became  Whig  territory,  and  the  organi- 
zation formed  for  securing  constitutional  reform,  became  a 
potent  factor  in  state  politics  after  reform  was  secured.  In- 
deed, it  was  this  which  made  the  State  Whig  for  the  long 
period  which  followed. 

But  to  return  to  the  question  of  instructions,  Mangum, 
conscious  of  the  support  of  the  anti-Jackson  men  in  the  State, 
and  with  constitutional  reform  in  sight  which  would  greatly 
increase  the  political  power  of  his  followers,  relied  upon  the 
prospects  of  immediate  victory.  To  the  Jackson  supporters 
he  at  once  became  a  hated  object,  the  feeling  being  sharply 
intensified  by  the  fact  that  he  had  formerly  been  himself  a 
supporter  of  the  President.  Wherever  possible,  pressure  was 
brought  to  bear  by  his  opponents.  The  grand  jury  of  Edge- 
combe County  passed  a  vote  of  lack  of  confidence  in  him 
and  calling  upon  him  to  resign  and  the  Democratic  press 
attacked  him  sharply,  suggesting  the  same  course. 

Soon  after  the  election  of  Governor  Spaight  and  the  ad- 
journment of  the  legislature  of  1835,  the  question  of  candi- 
dates for  the  first  popular  election  was  raised.  The  two  po- 
litical influences  in  the  State  of  greatest  power  were  the 
Standard,  a  paper  established  in  Raleigh  in  1834  by  Philo 
White,  and  now  edited  by  Thomas  Loring,  its  political  po- 
sition being  best  understood  by  its  motto,  which  was :  "The 
Constitution  and  the  Union  of  the  States — they  must  be 
preserved,"  and  the  Register,  established  in  Raleigh  in  1799 
by  Joseph  Gales  and  continued  under  the  editorial  control 
of  Weston  R.  Gales.  The  latter  had  been  at  the  time  of  its 
establishment  a  Republican  paper,  but  it  was  at  this  time 
definitely  aligned  with  the  opposition  to  Jackson  who  called 
themselves  National  Republicans,  but  were  already  being 
generally  called  Whigs.  In  a  sense  it  may  be  regarded  as  the 
organ  of  the  party.    Both  papers  were  very  active  in  calling 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  35 

attention  to  the  names  of  suitable  persons  for  the  governor- 
ship and  the  other  papers  of  the  State  were  not  less  enter- 
prising. Almost  without  discussion  the  pro-Van  Buren,  or 
rather  pro-Jackson,  forces  settled  upon  Governor  Spaight  for 
re-election.  Indeed  it  was  almost  necessary  that  they  should, 
for  in  ability,  in  character,  and  in  record  they  had  no  better 
man  and  they  could  not  afford  to  neglect  him.  The  Demo- 
crats of  Macon  County  held  a  meeting  in  February,  1836, 
and  placed  his  name  in  nomination  and  their  example  was 
followed  by  Lincoln  and  Warren  almost  immediately.  Early 
in  March  the  Standard  placed  his  name  at  the  head  of  its 
editorial  columns  as  its  candidate  and  thereafter  none  of  the 
party  questioned  the  wisdom  of  the  choice  while  Democratic 
meetings  in  a  majority  of  the  counties  definitely  endorsed 
him. 

There  was  more  difficulty  in  choosing  a  candidate  for  the 
opposition.  Mangum's  name  was  mentioned  in  1835,  but 
he  did  not  desire  the  position,  or  care  to  leave  the  Senate. 
In  addition,  he  would  have  been  a  dangerous  candidate 
on  account  of  the  heat  aroused  by  the  instructions  ques- 
tion. He  was,  moreover,  in  a  sense,  already  a  candidate  for 
vindication  and  would  not  help  the  ticket.  He  was,  however, 
denounced  by  the  Standard  as  a  "blue  light  Federalist 
speechifier  during  the  war."  In  a  short  while  the  anti-ad- 
ministration candidates  narrowed  down  to  Edward  B.  Dudley 
of  New  Hanover,  and  Thomas  Gr.  Polk  of  Rowan,  who  had 
been  named  by  Fayetteville  and  Salisbury  papers  respective- 
ly. Early  in  January  Polk  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Western 
Carolinian,  which  had  nominated  him  and,  declining  to  have 
his  name  considered,  endorsed  Dudley  for  the  nomination. 
Two  weeks  later  a  Whig  mass  meeting  in  Wake  County 
formally  nominated  Dudley  as  a  supporter  of  Hugh  L. 
White  of  Tennessee  for  the  Presidency.  This  was  really  the 
keynote  of  the  campaign;  local  issues  had  no  part  in  the 
choice  of  candidate  and  the  candidates  appealed  for  support 
on  the  ground  of  the  strength  of  their  loyalty  to  the  presi- 
dential candidates  of  their  respective  parties.     When  Dud- 


36  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

ley  wrote  accepting  the  Wake  nomination,  he  said  nothing 
whatever  about  state  issues  or  the  needs  of  the  State,  but 
devoted  nearly  all  the  space  of  his  letter  to  denunciation  of 
Van  Buren,  saying  among  other  things,  "To  say  all  in  one 
sentence :  He  is  not  one  of  us.  He  is  a  Northern  man  in 
soul,  in  principle,  and  in  action,  with  not  one  feeling  of  sym- 
pathy or  interest  for  the  South."  The  Standard  denounced 
this  view  as  narrow,  unpatriotic  and  entirely  characteristic 
of  a  "nullification  candidate." 

Edward  B.  Dudley  was  a  native  of  Onslow,  which  county 
he  represented  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  1811  and  1813, 
and  in  the  Senate  in  1814.  He  then  moved  to  Wilmington 
where  he  at  once  became  prominent.  He  represented  New 
Hanover  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  1816,  1817,  1834,  and 
1835.  He  also  served  one  term  in  Congress  from  1829  to 
1831,  but  refused  to  return  on  the  ground  that  Congress  was 
not  a  fit  place  for  any  person  who  wanted  to  be  honest. 
Dudley  was  a  man  of  great  wealth,  of  liberal  and  large  views, 
of  genial  disposition,  but  at  the  same  time  of  a  firmness  and 
courage  that  at  times  approximated  very  closely  to  obsti- 
nacy. He  was  a  man  of  large  frame  and  imposing  presence 
and  while  he  was  possessed  of  no  remarkable  ability,  he  had 
a  great  fund  of  practical  common  sense,  a  possession  which 
has  rightly  been  called  uncommon.  As  was  to  be  expected  he 
was  an  earnest  opponent  of  instructions  to  senators  in  theory 
and  had  opposed  it  in  practice.  He  was  a  staunch  friend 
of  railroads  and  other  internal  improvements  and  at  this 
time  was  president  of  the  Wilmington  &  Raleigh  Railroad, 
soon  to  become  the  Wilmington  &  Weldon  Railroad.  It  was 
his  interest  in  internal  improvements  which  made  him  especi- 
ally acceptable  to  the  West. 

The  campaign  continued  throughout  the  spring  and  sum- 
mer and  was  of  course  an  entirely  new  thing  for  North 
Carolina.  The  candidates  were  not  on  the  stump,  but  they 
were  constantly  writing  letters  and  conferring  with  interested 
politicians.  A  feature  of  the  campaign  was  the  banquets 
at  various  places  where  great  enthusiasm  was  aroused.     But 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  37 

nowhere  were  state  issues  discussed  if  indeed  it  can  truthfully 
be  said  that  there  were  any  state  issues.  The  national  po- 
litical situation  swamped  and  overwhelmed  that  of  the  State. 
It  was  indeed  a  far  cry  to  that  time  when  men  resigned  from 
the  Senate,  the  Cabinet,  and  even  from  the  chief  justiceship 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  to  run  for  gov- 
ernor or  even  lesser  state  offices.  The  change  of  attitude  un- 
doubtedly helped  the  national  government,  but  it  proved 
highly  disastrous  for  the  States. 

The  campaign  was  accompanied  by  many  charges  and 
counter  charges,  and  the  press  was  unsparing  in  its  criticism 
and  denunciation  of  opponents.  Both  the  Standard  and  the 
Register  were  inclined  to  carry  the  matter  rather  far,  but 
each  had  much  to  say  of  the  offenses  of  the  other.  The 
Standard  early  in  the  year,  under  the  heading,  "Editorial 
Courtesy,"  had  the  following  to  say  on  the  subject : 

It  is  our  sincere  desire  to  be  on  terms  of  at  least  editorial 
courtesy  with  all  our  brethren  of  the  type.  But  when  an 
editor  of  a  paper  loses  all  respect  for  himself  and  his  voca- 
tion, and  so  far  violates  the  common  decencies  of  society,  as 
to  use  the  billingsgate  of  a  fish  market,  or  the  ribaldry  of  a 
tap-room,  in  combatting  the  arguments  of  a  contemporary, 
we  have  laid  it  down  as  a  rul^  for  guidance,  during  the  whole 
course  of  our  editorial  life,  to  decline  a  contest  with  such  a 
man.  And  whenever  an  editor  has  assailed  us  from  behind 
a  mud-battery,  with  the  weapons  he  may  have  grasped  from 
the  ditch,  it  has  been  our  practice  to  pass  by  on  the  other 
side.  For  the  odds  would  be  against  us,  not  being  skilled  in 
such  warfare,  nor  having  the  material  with  which  to  carry  it 
on.  But  even  were  it  otherwise,  we  could  acquire  neither 
reputation  nor  glory  in  obtaining  a  victory  in  such  a  contest 
— for  however  well  directed  might  be  our  discharges,  the 
enemy  would  be  but  revelling  in  his  wonted  element !  We 
would  always  prefer  putting  up  with  the  scurrility  of  a  chim- 
ney-sweep rather  than  soil  our  garments  with  chastizing  him. 

During  the  campaign  the  Democrats  attempted  to  prove 
that  Dudley  was  inclined  to  abolitionist  views  because  as  a 
.member  of  the  legislature  he  had  voted  for  a  resolution  which 


38  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

condemned  any  interference  by  Congress  with  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  but  which  conceded  the  right  of  Con- 
gress to  interfere.  Dudley,  interestingly  enough,  made  the 
identical  charge  against  Van  Buren  upon  almost  the  same 
ground.  Leading  Democrats  in  the  State  had  already  drawn 
from  Van  Buren  a  statement  of  his  views  on  the  question 
which  were  substantially  the  same  as  those  held  by  Dudley 
and  the  majority  of  North  Carolinians.  In  other  words  it 
was  entirely  a  feigned  issue.  In  the  same  way  nullification 
played  a  large  part  in  the  campaign.  The  Whigs  charged 
Spaight  with  having  attempted  to  establish  a  newspaper  in 
the  State  in  the  interest  of  nullification.  This  was  disproved, 
and  the  Democrats  were  equally  unfortunate  in  their  attempts 
to  prove  that  the  Whig  leaders  almost  without  exception  had 
nullification  sympathies.  They  were,  however,  able  to  make 
considerable  capital  of  the  fact  that  Calhoun  and  the  other 
South  Carolina  nullifiers  were  opposing  Van  Buren  and  act- 
ing in  other  ways  with  the  Whigs.  Just  at  this  time  Calhoun 
had  an  exceedingly  small  following  in  North  Carolina.  He 
had  been  very  strong  in  the  State  prior  to  the  nullification 
controversy  and  his  break  with  Jackson,  and  he  was  destined 
again  to  be  accepted  as  a  leader  by  those  who  now  opposed 
him  most  bitterly,  but  in  1836  both  factions  disclaimed  him, 
the  administration  followers  with  peculiar  bitterness.  The 
Standard  never  lost  an  opportunity  of  abuse  and  criticism, 
the  following  extract  being  characteristic :  "There  was  a  time 
when  Mr.  Calhoun  was  suspected  and  when  the  patriots  of 
our  country  dreaded  his  criminal  ambition.  But  that  time 
is  past;  he  is  now  known;  and  is  as  much  entitled  to  the 
political  confidence  of  the  American  people,  as  Judas  Iscariot 
was  to  that  of  the  faithful  eleven — and  no  more." 

Other  questions  which  entered  the  campaign  were  the 
bank  and  senatorial  instructions.  The  last-mentioned  was 
practically  the  only  subject  brought  up  which  bore  any  re- 
lation to  a  state  issue.  This  was  so  because  of  the  Mangum 
incident.    His  term  in  the  'Senate  was  about  to  expire,  and  he 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  39 

was  a  candidate  for  re-election.  The  Democrats,  therefore, 
sought  to  arouse  as  much  feeling  on  the  subject  as  possible. 

Both  sides  had  much  to  say  of  the  evils  of  party  spirit. 
The  Democrats  being  in  office,  naturally  deprecated  it  more 
than  their  opponents  who  were  trying  to  get  in.  In  1835  the 
Standard  had  condemned  the  opposition  very  harshly  for 
attempting  to  elect  the  speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  and 
it  now  had  much  to  say  in  the  same  vein  about  the  opposition 
to  Governor  Spaight's  re-election. 

The  North  Carolina  Whigs  generally  had  accepted  Judge 
Hugh  L.  White  as  the  most  suitable  opponent  for  Van  Buren 
and  practically  every  leader  was  pledged  to  him  and  nearly 
every  Whig  meeting  endorsed  his  candidacy.  But  when 
General  Harrison's  name  was  brought  out,  a  strong  dispo- 
sition favorable  to  him  was  apparent,  not  that  he  was  a  first 
choice ;  it  is  doubtful  if  the  Whigs  really  had  any  choice ;  still 
he  was  regarded  as  a  good  compromise  candidate  in  the  event 
of  the  election's  being  thrown  into  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives. In  other  words,  the  Whigs  wanted  to  defeat  Van 
Buren;  if  with  White,  well  and  good;  if  not,  with  someone 
else,  whoever  he  might  be.  Jackson,  after  all,  was  the  na- 
tional as  well  as  state  issue  with  the  North  Carolina  Whigs, 
as  to  a  great  extent  he  was  the  issue  with  the  North  Caro- 
lina Democrats,  for  many  of  the  latter  were  not  wildly 
enthusiastic  over  Van  Buren  except  as  Jackson's  choice  for 
his  successor. 

The  state  election  came  in  August,  and  its  results  were  in 
doubt' for  some  time.  Finally  it  was  clearly  evident  that 
Dudley  was  elected  though  his  majority — 4,043 — was  not 
known  until  the  legislature  canvassed  the  vote  after  the 
national  election.  The  complexion  of  the  legislature  remain- 
ed in  doubt  until  the  session  began,  but  both  sides  claimed 
control. 

The  election  returns  are  interesting.  The  following 
western  counties  were  carried  by  Spaight:  Ashe,  Caswell, 
Haywood,  Lincoln,  Macon,  Mecklenburg,  Person,  Rocking- 
ham, Surry  and  Yancey.    Person  always  voted  with  the  East 


40  James  Spkttnt  Historical  Publications 

but  not  so  the  others,  and  the  split  shows  interesting  Demo- 
cratic strength  in  the  West.  Dudley  carried  the  following 
eastern  counties:  Beaufort,  Brunswick,  Carteret,  Camden, 
Columbus,  Granville,  Halifax,  Hertford,  Hyde,  Jones, 
Northampton,  Pasquotank,  Perquimans,  Richmond,  Tyrrell 
and  Washington.  He  was  an  eastern  man  and  was  well  and 
favorably  known  in  that  section  of  the  State,  a  fact  which 
of  course  counted  for  much  in  the  election.  But  the  general 
result  does  indicate  that  sectionalism  was  decreasing  and 
.  points  to  the  existence  of  two  political  parties  geographically 
coincident. 

The  Democrats  were  greatly  upset  at  the  result.  They 
made  many  explanations  of  which  the  following,  appearing 
in  the  Standard  in  September,  while  not  quite  typical,  is  not 
much  more  laughable  than  many  others,  and  probably  it  had 
much  more  truth.  In  any  event  it  furnishes  a  shocking  com- 
mentary upon  political  conditions  in  the  State:  "They  even 
condescended  in  some  distant  parts  of  the  State  where  the 
people  were  not  familiar  with  the  names  and  policies  of  the 
candidates  to  represent  Governor  Spaight  as  the  candidate  of 
the  opposition  and  General  Dudley  as  the  candidate  of  the 
Administration  party."  The  truth  is  that  the  day  of  the 
Democrats  in  state  affairs  was  over  for  many  a  year.  The 
tardiness  of  the  emancipation  of  the  West  had  permitted  the 
growth  and  development  of  a  party  there  which  in  alliance 
with  certain  elements  of  the  East  could  easily  control  the 
State,  and  under  normal  conditions  it  did  so  for  14  years. 

The  election  was  watched  with  great  interest  outside  the 
State  as  bearing  upon  the  national  campaign.  There  was 
little  comfort  for  the  administration.  Van  Buren  wrote 
Bedford  Brown  that  the  administration  could  not  deceive 
itself  as  to  what  the  result  indicated  for  November  so  far 
as  North  Carolina  was  concerned.  But  in  the  State  the 
Democrats  did  not  lose  heart.  As  national  politics  had 
dominated  the  state  campaign,  at  least  so  far  as  the  leaders 
were  concerned,  the  chief  interest  of  the  year  was  still  to 
come  in  the  presidential  election.     So  they  lost  no  spirit,  but 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  41 

rather  redoubled  their  exertions.  The  Whigs,  on  the  other 
hand,  being  over-confident,  grew  slack.  The  Democrats  were 
fortunate  in  enlisting  Nathaniel  Macon  in  the  cause,  and  he 
finally  consented  to  be  a  candidate  for  elector  on  the  Van 
Buren  ticket.  The  old  leader  was  heart  and  soul  for  Van 
Buren  just  as  in  later  years,  he  had  been  for  Jackson,  and 
his  presence  on  the  ticket  undoubtedly  helped  it.  The  Demo- 
crats made  much  of  it,  and  the  last  political  effort  of  Macon 
was  crowned  with  success.     He  died  the  next  year. 

The  election  resulted  in  the  selection  of  Democratic  elec- 
tors with  a  popular  majority  of  9,240.  It  was  the  expiring 
flicker  of  Jacksonian  Democracy  in  North  Carolina  national \/ 
elections,  the  last  triumph  of  the  Democrats  in  a  national' 
election  there  for  twenty  years.  Then,  under  the  pressure 
of  new  national  problems,  the  State  returned  to  the  Demo- 
cratic fold,  but  the  Democracy  of  1856  was  not  Jacksonian; 
rather  it  was  that  of  Calhoun. 

The  geographical  division  of  the  vote  was  somewhat  the 
same  as  in  the  state  election.  In  the  West  the  Democrats 
gained  Buncombe,  Orange  and  Stokes,  and  in  the  East  they 
gained  Columbus,  and  lost  Pitt.  Their  majorities  in  many 
cases  were,  however,  considerably  increased.  The  explana- 
tion lies  wholly  in  the  hold  of  Jackson  upon  the  State. 

The  legislature  as  elected  turned  out  to  be  a  tie  between 
the  parties  on  joint  ballot,  but  for  some  reason  not  known, 
John  B.  Muse  of  Pasquotank,  a  Whig,  resigned  before  the 
meeting,  and  his  successor  was  a  Democrat.  This  gave  that 
party  a  majority  of  one  before  the  successor  was  elected. 
The  Senate  chose  Hugh  Waddell  of  Orange,  a  Whig,  as 
speaker  over  W.  D.  Moseley,  and  the  House  of  Commons 
elected  William  H.  Haywood  over  William  A.  Graham. 
Governor  Spaight  in  his  message  endorsed  public  education 
and  internal  improvements,  both  of  which  were  to  be  the 
main  reliance  of  the  Whigs  in  the  period  of  their  supremacy. 

On  November  26,  Mangum,  who  received  the  electoral 
vote  of  South  Carolina  for  President,  interpreting  the  elec- 


42  James  Sprtjnt  Historical  Publications 

tion  as  an  endorsement  of  the  doctrine  of  instructions,  as 
indeed  in  part  it  was,  and  realizing  that  he  had  no  hope  of 
re-election,  resigned  from  the  United  States  senate.  Judge 
Robert  Strange  of  Fayetteville,  a  strong  Democrat  and  a 
firm  believer  in  the  doctrine  of  instructions,  was  chosen  for 
the  unexpired  term  and,  a  few  days  later,  for  the  new  term. 
His  majority  was  the  party  majority  of  one. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1838 

The  legislature  of  1836  differed  but  little  from  its  pre- 
decessors. Much  of  its  time  was  spent  in  the  consideration 
of  small  things,  but  a  hopeful  sign  was  the  increasing  interest 
manifested  in  the  development  of  railroads.  Not  yet  was 
the  State  prepared  for  a  state  system  of  internal  improve- 
ments or  even  for  state  aid  on  any  extended  scale,  but  the 
interest  manifested  during  the  session  in  private  ventures 
argued  well  for  the  future.  Among  its  acts  worthy  of  men- 
tion were  those  providing  for  the  draining  of  the  swamp 
lands  of  the  State,  the  receipts  from  the  sale  of  drained 
lands  to  be  turned  into  the  Literary  Fund,  and  the  appropria- 
tion of  $200,000  for  the  purpose;  the  acceptance  by  almost  a 
unanimous  vote  of  the  surplus  revenue  of  the  United  States 
Government;  and  the  amendment  of  the  Internal  Improve- 
ment Fund  act.  The  Raleigh  and  Columbia,  the  Norfolk 
and  Edenton,  and  the  North  Carolina  Central  Railroad 
Companies  were  incorporated,  and  the  charters  of  six  other 
roads  were  amended  to  their  advantage.  Provision  was 
made  for  the  laying  out  of  a  state  road  from  Franklin  across 
the  Nantahala  Mountain  to  the  Georgia  line.  The  county 
of  Davie  was  erected.  Five  judges,  Owen  Holmes,  who  did 
not  accept,  Richmond  M.  Pearson,  Frederick  Nash,  John  D. 
Toomer,  and  John  L.  Bailey,  were  chosen  and  a  number  of 
solicitors  besides  the  regular  state  officers.  In  none  of  the 
elections  is  it  possible  to  trace  partisanship.  In  fact  a  con- 
siderable majority  of  the  officers  chosen  were  Whigs.  Two 
elaborate  series  of  resolutions,  both  introduced  by  Kenneth 
Rayner,  failed  to  pass.  One  was  a  very  strong  pro-slavery 
argument  addressed  to  Congress,  while  the  other  called  for 
the  distribution  of  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  public  lands 
among  the  States  proportionately.  The  latter  was  at  this 
time  the  plan  of  Henry  Clay  and  was  very  popular  among 
North  Carolina  Whigs. 


44  James  Sprttnt  Historical  Publications 

Governor  Dudley  was  inaugurated  on  the  first  of  Janu- 
ary, 1837,  and  in  his  inaugural  address  made  a  strong  plea 
for  progress.  The  following  is  the  highly  significant  part  of 
his  message  in  that  it  was  the  keynote  of  the  Whig  party  at 
its  best  stage : 

As  a  State,  we  stand  fifth  in  population,  first  in  climate, 
equal  in  soil,  minerals  and  ores,  with  superior  advantages 
for  manufacturing  and  with  a  hardy,  industrious  and  eco- 
nomical people.  Yet,  with  such  unequalled  natural  facilities, 
we  are  actually  least  in  the  scale  of  relative  wealth  and  enter- 
prise, and  our  condition  daily  becoming  worse — lands  de- 
pressed in  price,  fallow  and  deserted — manufacturing  advan- 
tages unimproved — our  store  of  mineral  wealth  undisturbed, 
and  our  colleges  and  schools  languishing  from  neglect.  It  is 
a  true  but  melancholy  picture,  and  it  is  our  business  to  pre- 
scribe the  remedy.  In  the  want  of  capital  and  of  that 
generous  confidence  which  should  exist  between  Government 
and  the  people,  mutually,  to  assist  and  support  each  other, 
I  think  I  find  the  evil,  and  the  corrective  is  palpable.  In- 
crease your  circulating  medium,  give  to  industry  and  enter- 
prise their  proper  incentives,  and  make  interest  the  connect- 
ing tie  between  ourselves  and  our  constituents  and  we  at 
once  seize  hold  of  their  confidence  and  affections  and  arrest 
the  torrent  of  emigration  which  is  desolating  our  State. 

The  year  1837  had  little  of  political  interest  outside  of 
the  congressional  campaign  which,  concerned,  properly 
enough  it  is  true,  only  with  national  affairs,  excited  genuine 
and  widespread  interest.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the 
interest  in  national  affairs  indicated  any  unusually  strong 
national  feeling.  States'  Rights  sentiment  was  powerful  in 
ISTorth  Carolina  throughout  the  entire  period  from  1776  to 
1860.  The  reasons  for  the  fact  have  already  been  discussed 
and  will  cause  further  comment  later. 

The  congressional  elections  were  therefore  hotly  contested 
in  most  cases.  The  Whigs  gained  one  seat  only  to  lose  it 
during  the  term  of  the  next  Congress  through  a  change  of 
opinion  on  the  part  of  the  member.  William  B.  Shepard 
of  Pasquotank,  a  Whig,  was  succeeded  by  Samuel  T.  Sawyer 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  45 

of  Chowan,  and  Jesse  Speight  of  Greene,  a  Democrat,  was 
defeated  by  Charles  Shepard  of  Craven,  who  was  a  moderate 
Whig.     These  were  the  only  changes  made  in  the  delegation. 

With  the  congressional  canvass  completed,  the  politics- 
ridden  State  turned  its  attention  to  a  discussion  of  suitable 
candidates  for  the  presidency  in  1840  and  to  incidental  men- 
tion of  possible  and  gubernatorial  candidates  in  1838.  In 
the  Whig  camp  there  was  little  need  for  discussion,  for  the 
party  was  committed  heart  and  soul  to  Henry  Clay.  But 
party  lines  were  in  a  way  very  loosely  drawn  and  so  it 
was  felt  to  be  necessary  to  sing  his  praises  in  and  out  of 
season  in  order  to  draw  the  hesitant  and  the  doubting  to  his 
standard.  Practically  no  one  else  was  mentioned  at  this  time. 
All  the  Whig  papers  were  enlisted  in  his  behalf  and  they 
considered  no  one  else.  In  the  same  way  the  Whigs  took 
Governor  Dudley's  renomination  for  granted,  and  no  other 
candidate  was  suggested. 

In  the  Democratic  ranks  there  was  the  same  unity  as  to 
a  presidential  candidate.  Van  Buren's  supremacy  was  un- 
disputed and  the  only  quarrel  was  with  the  opposition.  So 
Clay  and  Webster  were  consistently  accused  of  yielding  on 
all  points  to  the  abolitionists,  while  Harrison  was  mentioned 
only  to  belittle  him.  For  the  governorship  the  Democrats 
had  apparently  no  one  to  offer.  In  February,  the  Standard, 
stating  that  a  considerable  number  of  leading  Democrats 
agreed  with  it,  took  the  ground  that  the  governorship  ought 
not  to  be  contested,  declaring  that  if  the  office  was  to  be  put 
on  a  party  basis,  it  would  be  "disturbing  to  the  repose  of  the 
State."  "If  the  official  conduct  of  the  executive  officer  of  a 
State  is  unexceptionable,  it  certainly  gives  him  claim  to 
election.  In  the  case  of  Governor  Dudley,  so  far,  no  dissatis- 
faction has  been  given  to  the  people  of  the  State."  Declaring 
that  the  question  of  abolition  was  the  only  issue,  that 
therefore  the  State  should  be  undivided,  and  that  Dudley 
had  never  been  a  party  governor,  it  continued :  "It  may  be 
said  that  the  opposition  had  no  regard  to  the  claims  of  Gov- 
ernor Spaight  who  had  done  nothing  to  provoke  hostility. 


46  James  Sprtjnt  Historical,  Publications 

True !  but  the  conduct  of  the  opposition  can  furnish  no  plea 
to  Democratic  Republicans  for  desertion  of  their  principles. 
The  time  was  (though  we  fear  it  has  gone  by)  when  the 
orthodox  Democratic  creed  taught  that  in  the  selection  of 
State  officers  we  should  ask  what  were  their  opinions  of 
State  matters;  in  choosing  National  officers,  what  do  they 
hold  on  National  affairs.  That  this  has  not  continued  to  be 
the  plan  of  selection  may  be  attributed  to  the  proscriptive 
spirit  of  the  Federal  party."  In  view  of  the  facts  of  the  case, 
this  last  assertion  of  the  Standard  is  interesting,  and  yet,  as 
will  be  seen,  it  is  true  that  the  Whig  party  in  North  Carolina 
first  began  to  apply  the  spoils  system  to  state  affairs. 

It  is  difficult  now  to  understand  just  the  reasons  for  the 
Standard's  position  as  to  Dudley.  It  is  true  that  he  had  al- 
ways been  exceedingly  popular  and  that  he  had  grown  more 
so  during  his  term  of  office.  In  addition,  the  Standard  had 
no  one  to  offer  in  opposition  and  it  later  appeared  that  the 
editor  at  the  time  believed  that  Dudley  would  vote  neither 
for  Clay,  Webster,  nor  Harrison,  and  that  he  was  opposed 
to  the  re-establishment  of  the  United  States  Bank.  As  Dud- 
ley was  on  record  in  believing  that  a  protective  tariff  was 
unconstitutional,  it  can  readily  be  seen  that  he  was  not  an 
unattractive  candidate  as  Whig  candidates  went.  Here  is 
probably  the  explanation  of  the  Standard' s  action.  However, 
that  may  be,  the  position  taken  was  not  popular  with  the  rest 
of  the  Democratic  press  and  criticism  was  very  sharp  from 
all  quarters  of  the  State. 

In  the  meantime,  Dudley  had  seriously  considered  re- 
fusing to  be  a  candidate  for  re-election.  He  told  John 
Branch,  who  Was  a  warm  personal  friend,  of  his  intention. 
Branch,  who,  although  he  had  revolted  against  Jackson  after 
the  break-up  of  the  cabinet  and  his  own  consequent  retire- 
ment from  the  Navy  Department,  had  now  returned  to  his 
full  Democratic  allegiance,  warned  him  against  undue  haste 
in  making  his  decision;  and  Dudley  later  decided  to  be  a 
candidate.  In  July,  a  group  of  Wake  County  Democrats 
met  at  the  house  of  one  of  their  number  and  nominated 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  47 

Branch.  He  was  informed  of  this  action  by  a  letter  dated 
July  4,  in  which  he  was  asked  to  define  his  opinion  on  the 
Independent  Treasury  and  the  Bank  of  the  United  States, 
and  three  days  later  he  replied  accepting  the  nomination. 
In  his  letter  he  declared  that  the  immediate  issue  was  that 
of  the  establishment  of  the  bank,  but  that  behind  it  lay  the 
menace  of  a  loose  construction  of  the  Constitution  when  the 
South  could  only  be  safe  under  a  system  of  strict  construction. 
"For  Governor  Dudley  I  entertain  personally  the  highest 
respect  and  esteem  and  nothing  could  induce  me  to  oppose 
his  re-election,  but  the  paramount  consideration  above  alluded 
to."  The  Democratic  press  and  leaders  accepted  his  candi- 
dacy, but  the  Standard,  in  announcing  its  support  of  the 
nominee,  declined  to  retract  any  of  its  former  statements  as 
to  the  campaign. 

The  Whigs  immediately  accused  Branch  of  inducing 
Dudley  to  run  only  to  contest  his  election  himself.  They 
also  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  Branch  had  been  recently 
nominated  in  Leon  County,  Florida,  for  membership  in  a 
constitutional  convention  which  the  people  were  trying  to 
secure,  and  said  that  this  was  proof  positive  that  he  was  a 
citizen  of  Florida  and  hence  ineligible  to  office  in  North 
Carolina.  They  also  used  against  him  with  some  effect  his 
famous  speech  in  the  legislature  of  1834  which  gave  an  inside 
account  of  the  break-up  of  the  cabinet,  and  in  which  he  had 
expressed  no  flattering  opinion  of  Van  Buren. 

John  Branch  was  a  native  of  Halifax  County.  Born  in 
1782,  he  graduated  from  the  University  in  1801  and  studied 
law  under  Judge  John  Haywood.  He  was,  however,  possess- 
ed of  great  wealth  by  inheritance  and  never  practiced  his 
profession.  In  1811  and  from  1813  to  1817  he  represented 
his  county  in  the  state  Senate,  being  speaker  in  1816  and 
1817.  In  the  latter  year  he  has  was  elected  governor  and 
served  for  the  three  terms,  the  maximum  number  under  the 
constitution.  He  returned  to  the  state  Senate  in  1822  for  one 
term  and  in  1823  was  elected  United  States  senator  to  suc- 
ceed Montford  Stokes  and  was  re-elected  in  1829.    In  March, 


48  James  Spkunt  Historical  Publications 

1829,  lie  resigned  to  become  secretary  of  the  navy  under 
Jackson.  Parton  says  of  him :  "Mr.  Branch  was  not  one  of 
those  who  achieve  greatness,  nor  one  of  those  who  have  great- 
ness thrust  upon  them.  He  was  born  to  it.  Inheriting  an 
ample  estate,  he  lived  for  many  years  upon  his  plantations 
and  employed  himself  in  superintending  their  culture.  He 
was  a  man  of  respectable  talents,  good  presence,  and  high 
social  position."  When  the  cabinet  was  broken  up  Jackson 
offered  him  the  governorship  of  the  territory  of  Florida,  a 
position  he  was  later  to  hold  under  President  Tyler,  but 
while  Branch  owned  much  property  in  Florida  and  the  po- 
sition might  not  have  been  uncongenial,  he  was  in  no  mood 
to  accept  anything  at  the  President's  hand  and  peremp- 
torily refused  to  consider  any  appointment.  Returning  to 
North  Carolina,  he  was  at  once  elected  to  Congress.  He 
was  in  the  legislature  in  1834  and  he  was  a  member  of  the 
convention  of  1835  and  quite  prominent  in  its  activities. 
Such  was  the  distinguished  career  of  the  Democratic  candi- 
date. 

The  campaign  such  as  it  was,  for  in  the  modern  sense 
there  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  been  any,  was  very  dull 
with  little  to  arouse  interest.  Also  because  Branch  was  not 
nominated  until  July,  it  was  very  short.  Immediately  after 
his  nomination  it  was  evident  that  a  mistake  had  been  made 
in  bringing  him  out  so  late  and  there  was  really  never  any 
hope  of  his  election.  National  discussion,  as  always,  pre- 
dominated and  the  United  States  Bank  was  the  chief  issue. 
The  Standard  now  had  a  sub-motto :  "The  people  against  the 
Bank."  Once  more,  too,  nullification  sentiments  and  sympa- 
thies were  charged  against  political  opponents.  But  a  change 
was  coming  over  some  of  the  people.  This  is  best  indicated 
by  the  fact  of  the  Standard's  reprinting  Calhoun's  speeches 
in  the  Senate  on  various  subjects  and  endorsing  them.  The 
abolition  movement  was  making  considerable  headway  by 
1838  and  the  effects  were  easily  visible  in  North  Carolina. 
This  question  also  entered  into  the  campaign. 

In  spite  of  the  dullness  of  the  campaign,  the  press  waxed 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  49 

bitter.  Parenthetically  it  may  be  said  that  there  have  been 
but  few  if  any  campaigns  since  when  at  least  a  part  if 
not  all  of  the  press  was  not  bitter.  It  has  been  a  character- 
istic of  North  Carolina  political  campaigns.  Speaking  of 
the  bitterness,  the  Standard  said :  "We  have  before  us  three 
of  the  leading  Whig  papers  of  North  Carolina,  published 
within  a  month  in  which  collectively  the  terms  loco  foco,  im- 
posters,  agrarians,  senseless  loafers,  sluggish  idlers,  swag- 
gering penniless  braggarts  are  used  as  applicable  to  the  Dem- 
ocratic Republican  party."  The  charge  was  true  and  is  par- 
ticularly interesting  in  that  it  shows  the  tendency  of  the 
Whig  party  in  North  Carolina,  in  spite  of  the  facts  of  its 
foundation  and  its  geographical  strength  to  become  a  party 
of  the  classes  as  distinguished  from  the  masses. 

The  election  came  and  Dudley  carried  forty-three  coun- 
ties with  a  majority  of  more  than  14,000.  The  total  Whig 
vote  increased  only  336  votes  while  the  Democratic  vote  de- 
creased 9,797.  A  Whig  legislature  was  chosen  with  control  of 
both  houses  and  a  majority  on  joint  ballot  of  fourteen.  Man- 
gum — who  had  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for  Congress  the 
year  before,  probably  because  he  was  afraid  that  Doctor 
Montgomery  would  defeat  him,  a  fear  not  entirely  unfound- 
ed,— was  a  candidate  for  the  Senate  from  Orange,  but  was 
defeated,  to  the  unholy  joy  of  the  Democrats  who  made 
special  efforts  to  that  end.  Mangum  said  during  the  cam- 
paign with  some  truth :  "The  Van  Buren  party  would  rather 
see  the  devil  unchained  and  put  in  the  Legislature  than  to  see 
me  elected." 

The  Whigs,  naturally  were  very  jubilant,  the  Register 
expressing  their  feeling  in  the  following  editorial : 

The  keynote  North  Carolina  has  struck 

Of  victory  full  and  entire, 
In  the  "slough  of  despond"  Locofoco  is  stuck  , 

As  deep  in  the  mud  as  the  mire. 

It  is  with  feelings  such  as  we  have  rarely  experienced 
that  we  announce  that  North  Carolina,  too,  has  cast  down  her 
idols,  and  joined  in  the  loud  chorus  of  triumph  and  joy, 


50  James  Spbunt  Historical  Publications 

which  commencing  in  Maine,  has  been  now  reverberated  from 
almost  every  State  in  the  Union.  Yes,  the  Old  North  is 
now  emphatically  "redeemed,  regenerated,  and  disenthrall- 
ed." After  a  fight  of  war  to  the  knife  and  the  knife  to  the 
hilt,  victory  has  perched  upon  the  Whig  banner,  nnder  the 
glorious  folds  of  which  so  many  gallant  States  have  taken 
shelter.  Make  way  then  for  us  and  proclaim  to  the  utmost 
verge  of  the  Union  that  North  Carolina  has  elected  a  Whig 
Governor !  a  Whig  Senate ! !  and  a  Whig  House  of  Com- 
mons ! ! ! 

The  legislature  met  in  November  and  the  Whigs  elected 
the  officers.  Andrew  Joyner  of  Halifax,  was  chosen  speaker 
of  the  Senate  over  Louis  D.  Wilson  of  Edgecombe,  and  Wil- 
liam A.  Graham  of  Orange,  speaker  of  the  House  over  Mich- 
ael Hoke  of  Lincoln.  Governor  Dudley's  message  contained 
bitter  criticism  of  the  protective  tariff  and  also  of  the  finan- 
cial measures  of  Jackson's  and  Van  Buren's  administra- 
tions. It  also  strongly  endorsed  the  re-establishment  of  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States  and  made  a  plea  for  the  state 
banks.  A  large  part  of  the  message,  which  was  unusually 
long  for  that  day,  was  taken  up  with  these  matters.  He  sug- 
gested an  entailed  homestead,  urged  continuance  and  elabo- 
ration of  the  system  of  internal  improvements,  and  urgently 
recommended  the  creation  of  a  system  of  public  schools. 
Struck  with  the  lack  of  suitable  and  prepared  teachers,  he 
suggested  the  plan  since  adopted  of  providing  free  tuition  at 
the  University  for  those  would  agree  to  teach  for  a  certain 
term  of  years. 

In  his  inaugural  which  came  later  in  the  session,  the 
Governor  again  urged  public  education  and  internal  im- 
provements. The  address  showed  evidence  of  considerable 
party  heat  and  rancor.  Declaring  that  the  stability  of  the 
State's  institutions  was  threatened  by  the  levelling  spirit 
prevalent,  he  called  upon  the  people  to  hold  it  in  check.  This 
part  of  the  address  excited  considerable  hostile  comment,  the 
Standard  saying  that  it  was  "a  political  firebrand  wantonly 
and  gratuitously  thrown  into  our  councils  at  a  time  when 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  51 

conciliatory  language  was  of  vast  importance  to  the  interests 
of  the  State." 

Towards  the  close  of  the  campaign,  the  Democrats  quite 
frequently  made  the  charge  that  the  Whigs  planned  in  the 
event  of  their  controlling  the  legislature,  to  instruct  the  two 
Democratic  senators,  and  thus  force  their  resignation,  ~No 
sooner  was  the  result  certain  than  it  became  evident  that  they 
had  some  such  intention,  and  soon  after  the  session  opened, 
Kenneth  Rayner  of  Hertford,  introduced  a  series  of  resolu- 
tions designed  to  embarrass  the  senators.  Declaring  that  a 
great  crisis  had  arrived  in  the  political  history  of  the  coun- 
try, in  which  it  was  the  duty  of  the  people's  representatives 
to  express  their  opinions  calmly  and  dispassionately,  the  reso- 
lutions condemned  the  passage  of  the  expunging  resolution, 
and  called  for  a  counter  resolution  by  the  Senate  condemning 
that  action ;  condemning  the  proposed  sub-treasury  scheme ; 
and  endorsing  the  distribution  policy.  The  final  resolution 
was  the  important  one.  It  was  as  follows :  "Resolved,  That 
our  Senators  in  Congress  will  represent  the  wishes  of  a  large 
majority  of  the  people  of  this  State  by  voting  to  carry  out 
the  foregoing  resolutions." 

These  resolutions  had  been  the  subject  of  prolonged  Whig 
caucuses  and  were  finally  decided  upon  after  advice  was 
taken  from  practically  every  leading  member  of  tne  party 
in  the  State.  Their  form  was  a  matter  of  considerable  im- 
portance and  much  care  was  taken  in  regard  to  it.  In  the  long 
debate  which  followed  upon  their  introduction,  the  whole 
purpose  of  the  Democrats  was  to  amend  the  resolutions  so  as 
at  least  to  commit  the  Whigs  to  an  endorsement  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  instruction;  but  all  attempts  at  this  were  futile. 
The  Whigs  had  the  power  and  were  determined  to  use  it 
and,  if  possible,  to  drive  Brown  and  Strange  from  the  Senate ; 
but  they  were  unwilling  to  accept  the  doctrine  of  instructions. 
And  so,  by  a  strict  party  vote  in  each  house,  they  defeated 
every  amendment  and  passed  the  resolution.  David  S.  Reid 
immediately  moved  a  resolution  endorsing  the  votes  of  the 


52  James  Spkttnt  Historical  Publications 

two  senators  against  certain  abolitionist  measures,  but  this 
was  defeated  by  a  party  vote. 

As  soon  as  the  senators  received  the  resolutions,  they 
wrote  expressing  the  belief  that  the  General  Assembly  was 
not  exerting  their  undoubted  right  of  instruction  and  ex- 
pressing their  readiness  to  obey  or  resign  whenever  instruc- 
tions should  be  given,  but  asking  for  correction  if  their  con- 
struction of  the  resolutions  was  at  fault.  This  action  put  the 
Whigs  in  a  difficult  position,  and  they  had  no  answer  to  give 
that  would  not  commit  them  in  a  way  that  they  did  not  wish. 
In  the  House  the  letter  was  laid  on  the  table,  but  in  the 
Senate  the  following  resolution  was  adopted  by  a  party  vote : 

Resolved,  That  the  resolutions  passed  by  the  General 
Assembly,  and  transmitted  to  our  Senators  in  Congress  are 
sufficiently  plain  and  intelligble  to  be  comprehended  by  any 
one  desirous  of  understanding  them;  that  we  believe  this 
communication  anticipating  the  reception  of  said  resolutions, 
and  making  inquiry  as  to  their  meaning,  is  not  in  good  faith ; 
and  that  it  would  be  incompatible  with  the  self-respect  of  this 
General  Assembly  to  make  any  reply  to  it. 

On  January  14,  1839,  Senator  Brown  presented  the  reso- 
lutions to  the  Senate  and  defended  his  course  and  that  of 
his  colleague  who  joined  him  in  the  defense.  They  then  an- 
nounced their  intention  of  presenting  their  resignations  at 
the  next  legislature.  Henry  Clay  took  upon  himself  the 
defense  of  the  North  Carolina  Whigs  and  answered  them 
rather  discourteously.  Brown  and  Strange  both  replied  to 
him  so  effectively  as  to  delight  the  heart  of  every  North 
Carolina  Democrat  and  equally  disgust  that  of  every  North 
Carolina  Whig. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1840 

The  legislature  of  1838  did  not  spend  its  entire  time 
playing  politics,  though  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  major 
portion  of  it  was  devoted  to  that  dear  delight  of  North  Caro- 
linians of  the  period.  Constructive  legislation  of  great  im- 
portance was  enacted,  the  most  vital  and  significant  act  being 
the  passage  of  the  law  providing  for  the  establishment  of  the 
public  school  system.  This  went  into  effect  at  once  and  the 
first  school  established  under  its  provisions  opened  its  doors 
on  January  20,  1840.  Of  great  importance  also  were  acts 
authorizing  a  State  subscription  of  $750,000  to  the  Fayette- 
ville  &  Western  Railroad  Co.,  the  endorsement  by  the  State 
of  bonds  of  the  Raleigh  &  Gaston  Railroad  Co.  to  the  amount 
of  $500,000,  and  the  incorporation  of  the  Weldon  Railroad 
Company.  Sectionalism  was  apparent  among  the  Whigs  in 
regard  to  internal  improvement  and  it  was  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult for  western  Whigs  to  persuade  those  from  the  East  to 
support  all  the  projects  contemplated,  most  of  which  were 
thought  to  be  chiefly  of  importance  to  the  West.  To  interest 
them,  therefore,  a  resolution  was  passed  directing  the  Board 
of  Internal  Improvements  to  employ  an  engineer  to  ascertain 
if  an  inlet  could  be  opened  at  Nag's  Head  between  Albemarle 
Sound  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Another  resolution  requested 
the  State's  delegation  in  Congress  to  use  all  efforts  to  secure 
the  aid  of  the  federal  government  in  opening  the  inlet.  The 
western  members,  be  it  said,  speaking  generally,  did  not  care 
at  all  whether  an  inlet  was  opened  or  not.  In  the  internal 
improvement  legislation  there  was  a  clear  line  of  demarca- 
tion between  the  Whigs  and  Democrats,  although  in  no  case 
was  there  absolute  division  along  party  lines.  Generally 
.  speaking,  however,  Democrats  were  opposed  and  Whigs  fa- 
vorable to  internal  improvements. 

Other  acts  of  interest  and  importance  were  the  erection 
-of  the  counties  of  Cherokee  and  Henderson,  the  passage  of 


54  James  Speunt  Historical  Publications 

resolutions  instructing  the  governor  to  obtain  all  possible  in- 
formation as  to  the  number  of  insane  in  the  State  and  to 
report  plans  for  an  asylum  to  the  next  legislature,  and  to  se- 
cure information  in  regard  to  penitentiaries,  orphanages,  and 
reformatories.  Among  the  private  acts  were  those  incorpor- 
ating seven  private  schools,  Davidson  College  and  the  Greens- 
boro Female  College.  The  name  of  the  Literary  and  Manual 
Labor  Institution  in  Wake  County  was  changed  to  Wake 
Forest  College.  Four  textile  and  two  iron  manufacturing 
companies  were  chartered.  These  acts  all  show  awakening 
interest  in  matters  that  were  vital  to  the  highest  degree  and 
they  were  hopeful  signs. 

Politics  never  grew  quiet  in  North  Carolina  during  1839. 
The  Rayner  resolutions  and  the  failure  of  the  two  senators 
to  regard  them  furnished  material  for  mutual  recrimination 
until  the  congressional  campaign  was  well  under  way.  The 
Whigs,  as  soon  as  the  legislature  adjourned,  declared  that  the 
Democrats  had  refused  to  obey  instructions!  and  thus  in  a  sense 
at  last  they  endorsed  the  doctrine.  The  Democratic  mem- 
bers of  the  legislature  held  a  meeting  in  January  with  Wel- 
don  1ST.  Edwards  as  chairman  and  issued  an  address  to  the 
people  defending  the  senators  and  attacking  the  Whigs  for 
their  behavior.  In  the  same  address  they  condemned  the 
Rayner  resolutions  and  the  suggestion  to  establish  a  national 
bank.  A  more  important  and  significant  part  of  the  address 
was  the  call  for  the  appointment  of  a  central  committee  of 
the  party  to  receive  nominations  for  governor  in  1840  and  in 
case  a  demand  for  a  state  convention  was  at  all  general  to 
call  one.  The  demand  was  already  strong  and  this  section 
made  the  call  certain. 

The  congressional  elections  occupied  the  usual  time  and 
attracted  the  usual  interest.  Nominations  were  made  by  both 
parties  in  every  district  except  the  twelfth  where  James 
Graham,  the  sitting  Whig  member,  had  no  opposition.  The 
contests  were  very  bitter  in  most  instances  and,  somewhat  to 
the  surprise  of  all  the  State,  resulted  in  a  substantial  gain  for 
the  Democrats,  eight  of  their  candidates  being  successful.. 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  55 

They  were:  J.  A.  Bynum,  J.  J.  McKay,  M.  T.  Hawkins, 
William  Montgomery,  Henry  W.  Connor,  all  of  whom  were 
old  members,  John  Hill — who  defeated  for  one  term  Au- 
gustine H.  Shepperd — Charles  Fisher  and  Charles  Shepard. 
The  last  mentioned  had  left  the  Whig  party  the  fall  before 
while  in  Congress  and  was  now  triumphantly  endorsed  by  his 
district  in  spite  of  the  activity  of  the  Whigs  who  spared  no 
efforts  to  defeat  and  thus  rebuke  him.  S.  T.  Sawyer,  who 
had  done  the  same  thing,  was  defeated  by  Kenneth  Rayner 
who  was  now  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important  of  the 
Whig  leaders  in  the  State.  The  other  Whig  members  chosen 
were  Lewis  Williams,  who  could  not  be  defeated,  James  Gra- 
ham, Edmund  Deberry,  all  old  members,  and  Edward  Stanly 
who  now  entered  upon  a  brilliant  but  violent  and  erratic  ca- 
reer in  Congress.  Just  before  the  election  the  Raleigh  Reg- 
ister published  a  forged  letter  from  Doctor  Montgomery  to  a 
fellow  Democrat.  The  letter  was  one  calculated  to  injure 
Montgomery  greatly,  but  it  attracted  more  attention  after 
the  election  than  it  did  before,  and  it  was  comparatively  easy 
then  to  prove  the  spurious  nature  of  the  document  to  the  satis- 
faction of  all  except  the  Register.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that 
it  was  the  cause  of  much  vituperative  language. 

In  the  campaign  the  Democrats  began  the  selection  of 
"Committees  of  Vigilance,"  forerunners  of  the  later  local 
organizations  of  both  parties.  Each  party  already  had  central 
committees,  and  the  way  was  now  ready  for  the  important 
democratic  step — the  creation  of  the  state  conventions.  All 
summer  the  idea  grew  in  favor  not  only  with  the  Democrats 
but  with  the  Whigs,  and,  consequently  in  August  the  Whigs 
and  in  October  the  Democrats  issued  calls  for  conventions, 
the  Whigs  to  meet  on  November  12,  1839,  and  the  Democrats 
on  January  8,  1840.  At  once  there  followed  for  each  party 
a  series  of  county  meetings  designed  not  only  to  elect  dele- 
gates but  to  arouse  the  people  and  secure  some  expression  of 
opinion  as  to  gubernatorial  candidates. 

Little  difference  of  opinion  could  be  discovered  among  the 
Whigs;  the  leaders  had  already  seen  to  that.     During  the 


56  James  Spkunt  Historical  Publications 

legislature  of  1838-1839  the  Whig  members  in  secret  caucus 
had  settled  upon  John  M.  Morehead,  of  Guilford,  as  the 
proper  person  to  run,  and  their  quiet  work  in  his  'behalf  set- 
tled the  question.  Nearly  every  county  meeting  that  conde- 
scended to  a  discussion  of  state  affairs  endorsed  him,  Guil- 
ford leading  the  way  in  August.  William  J.  Alexander  of 
Mecklenburg  was  the  only  other  man  mentioned. 

Among  the  Democrats  there  was  no  such  unanimity  of 
opinion  and  preference.  William  H.  Haywood,  Romulus 
M.  Saunders,  Weldon  1ST.  Edwards,  Louis  D.  Henry,  Bedford 
Brown,  Henry  W.  Connor,  William  D.  Moseley,  and  William 
A.  Blount  were  all  endorsed  by  one  or  more  county  meetings, 
but  it  soon  became  evident  that  a  large  majority  of  the  party 
favored  Haywood.  About  twenty  counties  endorsed  him  form- 
ally, but  in  November  he  announced  that  under  no  circum- 
stances could  he  be  a  candidate.  There  was  still  some  hope 
that  he  would  reconsider,  and  the  matter  was  not  regarded 
as  settled  and  a  number  of  counties  endorsed  him  afterwards. 
Saunders  was  a  second  choice  and  one  far  behind  in  popu- 
larity. 

The  Whig  convention,  the  first  state  political  convention 
in  the  history  of  North  Carolina,  met  in  Raleigh  on  Novem- 
ber 12.  Thirty-four  counties  were  represented  by  91  dele- 
gates. James  Mebane  of  Orange,  called  the  meeting  to 
order  and  ex-Governor  John  Owen  was  chosen  president. 
A  committee  of  thirteen,  one  from  each  congressional  district, 
was  appointed  to  report  the  business  of  the  body.  Morehead 
was  nominated  for  governor  and  Clay  and  Talmadge  were 
endorsed  as  candidates  for  President  and  Vice  President. 
James  Mebane  and  John  Owen  were  selected  as  delegates  at- 
large  to  the  national  convention.  The  platform  of  the  party 
was  in  substance  as  follows :  It  favored :  ( 1 )  economy  in  gov- 
ernment; (2)  reform  in  the  revenue  system;  (3)  reduction 
in  the  number  of  government  employees;  (4)  selection  of 
government  employees  "without  discrimination  of  parties;" 
(5)  an  amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution  to  abolish  the 
electoral  college;  (6)  One  term  of  four  years  for  the  Presi- 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  57 

dent;  (7)  A  National  bank;  (8)  A  division  of  the  proceeds  of 
the  public  lands  among  the  States  on  a  basis  of  Federal  popu- 
lation; (9)  Public  education;  (10)  Strict  construction  of  the 
Constitution.  It  opposed:  (1)  Jackson's  spoils  system;  (2) 
Appointments  of  members  of  Congress  to  Federal  offices  dur- 
ing their  terms  in  Congress;  (3)  Making  judicial  appoint- 
ments for  partisan  reasons;  (1)  Interference  of  Federal  offi- 
cers in  elections;  (5)  Protective  tariff;  (6)  The  Federal 
Government's  making  internal  improvements  "except  such 
as  may  be  stampt  with  a  National  character;"  (7)  The  Sub- 
Treasury  scheme;   (8)  Federal  interference  with  slavery. 

John  Motley  Morehead,  the  Whig  candidate  for  governor, 
was  born  in  Pittsylvania  County,  Virginia,  July  4,  1796. 
Two  years  later  his  parents  moved  to  Rockingham  County, 
North  Carolina,  where  he  lived  until  his  marriage  in  1821. 
His  early*  education  was  received  at  Doctor  Caldwell's  fam- 
ous academy  and  in  1815  he  entered  the  junior  class  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina  where  he  graduated  in  1817. 
Upon  leaving  the  University  he  began  the  study  of  law  under 
Judge  Murphey.  Here  he  received  the  inspiration  of  his 
foremost  later  achievements,  for  Murphey's  influence  upon 
him  was  very  great  and  he  not  only  received  instruction  in 
law  from  his  teacher  but  acquired  the  dominating  idea  of  his 
later  career.  Murphey,  too,  was  fortunate.  Himself  an 
idealist,  he  had  powerfully  proclaimed  a  theory  as  well  as 
outlined  a  plan  of  action  in  respect  both  to  the  education  and 
internal  improvements.  But  practical  men,  political  leaders 
of  a  different  sort  and  at  the  head  of  an  organized  party  were 
needed  to  bring  about  success  in  putting  his  ideas  into  actual 
execution.  Bartlett  Yancey  and  later  Calvin  H.  Wiley  did 
this  work  in  education;  it  was  Morehead's  privilege  to  have 
Murphey  light  his  torch  for  leadership  in  internal  improve- 
ments. He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1819  and  began  prac- 
tice at  Wentworth.  In  1821  he  was  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Commons  from  Rockingham  and,  after  his  removal  to 
Guilford  he  represented  that  county  in  the  House  in  1826 
and  1827.    He  also  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  of  1835. 


58  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

He  had  been  a  strong  Jackson  man  and  was  a  Jackson  elector 
in  1832.  He  was  eminently  progressive  and  had  a  consistent 
record  of  interest  and  activity  in  behalf  of  education  and 
internal  improvements.  He  was  not  only  a  most  successful 
lawyer,  but  was  a  man  of  affairs  in  the  large  meaning  of  the 
term. 

Physically,  Morehead  was  a  fine  specimen  of  a  man. 
He  was  tall  and  broad-shouldered,  well  proportioned  and 
erect,  with  a  clean  shaven  and  massive,  yet  fine,  and  highly 
intellectual  face.  He  was  possessed  of  an  iron  constitution 
and  was  given  to  hard  work.  He  had  a  most  cordial  and  de- 
lightful manner  which  carried  with  it  an  assurance  of  candor 
and  sincerity  and  which  never  left  him  whether  on  the  stump 
or  in  personal  conversation.  He  was  a  rather  jocular  man, 
but  seems  not  to  have  possessed  any  great  fund  of  real  wit 
or  humor.     Of  sterling  integrity,  he  made  a  strong  candidate. 

It  was  understood  before  the  convention  that  Morehead 
would  canvass  the  State,  and  he  at  once  agreed  to  do  so.  His 
letter  of  acceptance  was  characteristic  of  the  time  and  place. 
All  of  it  was  devoted  to  national  affairs  in  respect  to  which 
he  was  entirely  in  accord  with  the  Whig  doctrines. 

The  Democratic  convention  met  in  Raleigh,  January  8, 
1840,  and  remained  in  session  two  days.  Thirty-eight  coun- 
ties, eleven  of  which  were  from  the  West,  had  representatives 
present.  The  most  extreme  western  counties  represented 
were:  Ashe,  Stokes,  Iredell,  and  Burke.  Louis  D.  Wilson  of 
Edgecombe,  presided.  A  committee  of  twenty-six,  two  from 
each  congressional  district,  was  appointed  to  recommend 
measures  and  candidates,  and  a  committee  of  thirteen  to 
draw  up  an  address  to  the  people.  The  platform  as  finally 
adopted  endorsed  Van  Buren,  the  independent  treasury  plan, 
and  strict  construction  of  the  constitution;  it  denounced  a 
national  bank  and  the  abolition  movement.  Weldon  N.  Ed- 
wards and  Louis  D.  Henry  were  chosen  delegates  at-large  to 
the  national  Democratic  convention,  and  the  appointment  of 
district  delegates  was  recommended.  Judge  Romulus  M. 
Saunders  was  unanimously  nominated  for  governor.     He 


Party  Politics  in  JSToeth  Carolina  59 

was  at  the  time  on  the  Superior  bench,  but  he  at  once  re- 
signed. He  was  called  into  the  convention  and  addressed  it. 
His  letter  of  acceptance,  like  Morehead's,  was  devoted  to 
national  affairs,  but  he  declared  for  public  education  and  in- 
ternal improvements  if  the  two  policies  could  be  carried  out 
without  the  State's  going  into  debt,  the  last  being  a  very 
safe  qualification. 

Romulus  Mitchell  Saunders  was  born  in  Caswell  County 
in  1791.  He  received  his  preparation  for  college  in  that 
county  and  was  a  student  at  the  University  for  two  years, 
but  was  dismissed  for  some  infraction  of  the  strict  code  of 
rules  then  prevailing.  He  studied  law  in  Tennessee  under 
Judge  Hugh  L.  White  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  that 
State  in  1812.  The  next  year  he  came  home  and  in  1815,  in 
company  with  Bedford  Brown,  was  elected  to  the  House 
of  Commons.  The  next  year  he  was  in  the  Senate,  but  re- 
turned to  the  House  in  1818,  1819  and  1820,  being  speaker 
for  the  last  two  terms.  In  1820  he  was  elected  to  Congress 
and  served  there  three  terms.  During  this  period  he  was 
the  intimate  friend  of  Macon  and  Yancey.  In  1824  he  fa- 
vored Calhoun  for  the  presidency  as  long  as  the  South  Caro- 
linian was  a  potential  factor  in  the  contest,  after  which  he 
leaned  to  Crawford  for  whom  he  finally  voted  in  the  House 
of  Representatives.  Unlike  the  majority  of  North  Carolina 
politicians  who  favored  Crawford  and  opposed  Jackson — 
and  Saunders  opposed  him  violently — he  did  not  become  a 
Whig,  but  saw  the  light  and  in  1828  was  a  strong  supporter 
of  the  Old  Hero  over  John  Quincy  Adams.  In  1828  he  was 
chosen  attorney-general  of  the  State  and  held  the  office  until 
1833  when  he  resigned  to  accept  from  Jackson  the  appoint- 
ment as  commissioner  on  the  French  Spoliation  Claims  where 
he  served  with  Judge  Campbell  of  Tennessee,  and  Judge 
Kane  of  Pennsylvania,  and  made  a  considerable  reputation 
for  ability.  In  1835  he  was  chosen  a  judge  of  the  Superior 
Court.  Saunders  probably  held  more  offices  than  any  man 
in  the  history  of  the  State  and  there  was  never  a  more 
assiduous  office-seeker.     His  letters  are  full  of  his  desire  for 


60  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

this  office  or  that;  for  even  when  he  was  in  office,  he  would 
devote  much  thought  and  anxiety  to  finding  something  better 
to  try  for.  It  was  this  propensity  of  his  which  gave  Judge 
Badger  the  opportunity  to  say  in  1853  when  someone  asked 
him  who  would  succeed  Bishop  Ives  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
who  had  just  joined  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  "I  do  not 
know,  but  Judge  Saunders  will  undoubtedly  be  a  candidate 
for  the  place." 

Saunders  was  an  experienced  and  able  politician  and 
campaigner,  in  no  sense  a  statesman,  but  a  man  of  genuine 
ability  and  of  keen  intellect,  really  of  power  far  above  the 
average,  of  fine  presence,  and  of  strong  common  sense.  He 
was  probably  as  strong  a  man  as  his  party  could  have  nomi- 
nated with  the  one  possible  exception  of  William  H.  Hay- 
wood, and  it  is  doubtful  if  the  latter  would  have  done  as  well 
on  the  stump  as  Saunders. 

The  campaign  was  formally  opened  in  March  when  both 
candidates  spoke  at  Orange  Court.  Hillsboro  was  an  import- 
ant political  center  at  that  time  and  the  entire  State  watched 
with  interest  for  reports  of  the  debate.  Each  side  claimed 
that  its  candidate  had  utterly  demolished  the  other,  and  it 
is  difficult  at  this  distance  to  know  the  truth  save  that  neither 
was  demolished.  But  the  evidence  seems  to  indicate  that 
Saunders  had  rather  the  best  of  it  on  account  of  his  greater 
dexterity  and  fuller  information  due  to  his  larger  experience 
in  such  work.  He  held  this  advantage  for  some  time,  but 
Morehead  was  learning  the  game  and  the  majority  of  the 
people  were  already  with  him,  a  fact  of  more  importance 
than  ability  in  debate.  But  there  was  never  a  time  when 
he  was  able  to  put  Saunders  to  rout.  Joint  debates  were 
held  in  a  large  number  of  places  well  distributed  about  the 
State,  and,  in  addition,  each  candidate  carried  out  an  extend- 
ed program  of  speeches  lasting  from  early  March  until  the 
election  in  August.  As  examples,  Saunders,  between  April 
25  and  May  22,  spoke  at  Stantonsburg,  Plymouth,  and  in 
Beaufort,  Tyrrell,  Pitt,  Hertford,  Bertie,  Gates,  Martin, 
Northampton,  Halifax,  Granville,  and  Wake  counties.     In 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  61 

some  of  these  lie  held  several  meetings.  Morehead  between 
April  23  and  May  22  spoke  in  New  Bern,  Washington,  Hali- 
fax, Jackson,  Edenton,  Hertford,  Elizabeth  City,  Camden 
court  house,  Currituck  court  house,  Windsor,  Williamston, 
Louisburg,  Oxford  and  Raleigh.  Throughout  the  State,  in 
East  and  West,  both  traveled,  meeting  the  people  and  discuss- 
ing national  issues. 

The  relations  between  the  candidates  were  good  through- 
out, though  each  made  charges  against  each  other  of  abo- 
lition sympathy,  of  federalism,  of  nullification  sentiment, 
and  of  other  things  too  numerous  and  too  absurd  to  chronicle. 
Neither  attempted  oratory,  but  when  arguments  were  at- 
tempted, appealed  to  common  sense.  Unfortunately  real 
arguments  were  not  common.  Neither  of  them  was  a  dema- 
gogue, and  ye,t  each  resorted  to  the  tricks  and  manners  of 
one.  The  story  is  familiar  of  how  Saunders  challenged  More- 
head,  saying,  "Whar,  sir,  does  the  gentleman  git  his  author- 
ity for  that  thar  statement  ?  I  ask  him  whar  ?"  to  be  an- 
swered by  Morehead' s  seizing  two  books  and  holding  them 
with  the  words,  "In  them  thar  dokiments,  sir.  That's  whar." 
Morehead  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  denunciation  of  the 
extravagance  of  the  Democratic  national  administration,  an 
argument  of  greater  weight  nowhere  than  in  North  Carolina. 
He  rang  the  changes  on  this,  condemning  the  administration 
for  furnishing  the  White  House,  for  improving  its  grounds, 
for  furnishing  soap  and  towels  to  the  government  employes, 
and  for  using  so  much  ice.  He  demanded  of  Saunders  the 
reason  for  the  last  mentioned  "extravagance,"  and,  when  the 
latter  replied  that  Washington  wells  were  bad,  that  cisterns 
had  to  be  used,  making  ice  a  necessity,  said  with  emphasis 
that  the  government  might  as  well  pay  for  the  bread  and 
meat  for  the  clerks  as  to  furnish  them  with  water.  These 
are  characteristic  examples  of  the  methods  of  the  candidates. 

The  campaign  and  campaign  arguments  were  not  con- 
fined to  the  gubernatorial  candidates.  The  press  was  actively 
engaged.  Every  politician  was  hard  at  work  and  nearly 
every  voter  was  in  this  year  at  least  a  politician.     Bitter 


62  James  Spkltistt  Historical  Publications 

charges  of  every  sort  were  bandied  back  and  forth.  The 
Democrats  urged  against  Morehead  his  friendship  for  the 
negroes  and  his  opposition  to  the  disfranchisement  of  the 
free  negroes  by  the  convention  of  1835  as  evidence  that  he 
favored  abolition.  The  Whigs  retorted  that  Saunders,  while 
in  Congress,  had  presented  memorials  to  Congress  in  1824: 
and  1825  from  the  North  Carolina  Manumission  Society,  a 
clear  proof,  so  they  said,  that  he  was  a  full-fledged  abolition- 
ist. Saunders  at  once  declared  that  times  had  changed  be- 
cause of  the  rise  of  the  abolition  movement  in  the  North. 
He  avowed  himself  not  only  an  opponent  of  abolition  but 
even  of  emancipation  unless  the  freedmen  were  compelled 
without  exception  to  leave  the  State.  Saunders  was  right 
when  he  said  that  times  had  changed.  The  abolition  move- 
ment was  having  a  marked  political  effect  as  is  shown  by  the 
constant  reference  to  the  question  by  both  partes.  It  was 
probably  the  favorite  argument  against  both  Van  Buren  and 
Harrison.  The  dismissal  of  Lieutenant  Hooe  from  the  navy 
by  a  court  martial  on  the  evidence  of  two  negroes  produced  a 
storm  of  protest  from  North  Carolina  Whigs  and  put  the 
Democrats  much  on  the  defensive  with  no  arguments  that 
the  people  generally  would  accept. 

Naturally  the  panic  exerted  a  strong  influence  and  hard 
times  bred  a  discontent  with  the  party  in  power  which  was 
hard  to  allay.  The  Democrats  had  difficulty  in  meeting  the 
arguments  of  their  opponents  on  this  point.  Many  Democrats 
were  favorable  to  the  Whig  policy  of  distributing  the  proceeds 
from  the  sale  of  the  public  lands  among  the  States,  and  this 
lessened  Democratic  strength.  The  Democrats,  contrary  to 
the  usual  impression,  manifested  little  apathy.  It  is  true 
that  they  did  not  deem  a  Whig  victory  in  the  nation  within 
the  range  of  possibility,  but  they  were  on  their  mettle  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  from  the  beginning  they  fought  a  losing  fight 
and  probably  knew  it.  They  attacked  internal  improve- 
ments, or  rather  the  method  and  manner  in  which  they  were 
promoted,  which  they  declared  extravagant,  wasteful,  and 
ineffective;  but  the  majority  of  the  people  wanted  internal 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  63 

improvements.  Again  the  Democrats  accused  Dudley  of 
bad  faith  and  of  lending  the  money  of  the  State  to  Whigs  to 
the  entire  exclusion  of  the  Democrats,  but  no  one  paid  much 
attention  to  the  charges.  One  thing  forced  them  to  be  some- 
what broader  than  the  Whigs, — they  were  under  the  necessity 
of  conciliating  the  West. 

The  Whig  arguments,  many  of  them  absurd  in  the  ex- 
treme, were  received  with  hearty  approval  and  applause  by 
the  party  which  was  in  a  mood  to  care  nothing  for  truth,  con- 
sistency, common  sense,  or  logic,  if  only  the  Democracy  was 
sharply  attacked.  Charles  Manly,  in  a  joint  debate  with 
Saunders,  made  three  charges  against  Van  Buren — in  the 
eyes  of  the  Whigs  final  and  damning:  1,  With  riding  in  a 
splendid  carriage  drawn  by  four  horses;  2,  with  sending  to 
the  postoffice  for  his  mail  instead  of  walking  to  get  it  him- 
self; and  3,  with  wearing  silk  stockings.  ISTo  words  can  ex- 
press the  sanctimonious  horror  with  which  the  Whigs  re- 
ceived these  conclusive  proofs  of  Van  Buren' s  unfitness  for 
re-election.  A  new  method  had  entered  politics,  controlling 
it  entirely,  and  the  Democrats,  to  their  honor  be  it  said, 
were  not  prepared  for  it. 

Both  parties  had  central  committees  answering  to  the 
executive  committees  of  later  days.  These  were  both  very 
active,  biit  that  of  the  Whigs  was  more  fertile  in  expedients 
as  well  as  more  efficient  in  organization.  The  first  work  they 
accomplished  was  to  perfect  a  most  elaborate  county  organi- 
zation which  included  a  committee  in  every  precinct,  all 
working  together.  Hundreds  of  meetings  were  held  by  each 
party,  but  the  Whigs  suddenly  began  a  series  of  young  men's 
meetings  which  greatly  disquieted  and  disgusted  the  Demo- 
crats who  found  themselves  seriously  handicapped  by  the 
charge  that  a  young  man  had  no  chance  in  their  organization. 
Then,  too,  the  use  of  emblems,  of  campaign  songs  and  cries, 
the  perpetual  series  of  processions,  barbecues,  and  meetings, 
the  systematic  appeal  through  noise  and  excitement  to  emo- 
tion, to  passion,  and  to  prejudice,  bewildered  the  Democrats 
who  regarded  it  all  as  sheer  demagoguery  of  the  worst  type, 


64  James  Spktjnt  Histokical  Publications 

— as  indeed  most  of  it  was, — and  doubtless  were  chagrined 
at  their  inability  to  meet  like  with  like.  There  is  much  that 
was  bad  about  it  all,  but  no  student  of  the  period  can  fail  to 
see  that  at  its  worst  it  was  better  than  the  apathy  and  local- 
ism which  had  formerly  prevailed.  All  of  it  is  significant 
in  that  it  marked  the  growth  of  a  new  sort  of  democracy 
which  was  at  least  interested.  The  student  also  is  forced 
to  wonder  if  the  men  in  North  Carolina  did  much  that  sum- 
mer and  autumn  besides  attending  political  meetings.  The 
Whigs  made  much  of  the  log  cabin  argument,  and  it  was 
a  poor  sort  of  community  from  the  Whig  standpoint  that 
did  not  have  some  sort  of  representation  of  a  log  cabin. 
In  Raleigh  a  huge  log  cabin  was  erected  which  was  called 
Harrison  Hall.  It  served  as  an  assembly  hall  for  the  semi- 
weekly  meetings  of  the  Tippecanoe  Club,  all  of  which  partook 
of  the  nature  of  celebrations.  The  disgust  of  the  Democrats 
knew  no  bounds  and  they  at  once  charged  that  the  lumber 
used  was  state  property,  a  charge  which,  it  is  needless  to  say, 
was  false. 

On  June  30,  Bedford  Brown  and  Robert  Strange  carried 
out  their  pledge  and  sent  to  Governor  Dudley  their  resigna- 
tions from  the  United  States  Senate,  to  take  effect  upon  the 
meeting  of  the  next  legislature.  Both  declared  that  they 
could  not  regard  the  Rayner  resolutions  as  instructions,  but 
said  that  they  wanted  the  endorsement  of  the  people.  This 
action  spurred  both  sides  to  renewed  efforts  in  the  contest. 

Both  Whigs  and  Democrats  had  taken  great  interest  in 
the  national  conventions  of  their  parties.  John  Owen  was 
quite  a  prominent  member  of  the  Harrisburg  convention 
though  he  was  not,  as  is  usually  stated,  president  of  that 
body.  He  was  urged  to  take  the  nomination  for  Vice  Presi- 
dent and  could  have  had  it ;  but  he  declined  and  by  this  nar- 
row margin  lost  the  presidency.  Mangum  was  a  receptive 
candidate  for  the  nomination,  but  Tyler  was  regarded  by  the 
convention  as  a  better  sop  to  the  Clay  Whigs  and  was  chosen." 
North  Carolina  Whigs  were  bitterly  disappointed  at  Clay's 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  65 

failure  to  receive  the  nomination  for  President,  but  they 
accepted  Harrison  and  soon  warmed  to  him. 

At  the  Democratic  convention,  which  met  in  Baltimore 
in  1840,  Weldon  ~N.  Edwards  was  a  prominent  figure,  being  a 
vTice-president,  on  the  committee  to  prepare  the  address  to 
the  country,  and  on  the  nominating  committee.  The  Demo- 
cratic convention  did  not  nominate  a  candidate  for  Vice  Pres- 
ident and  the  question  was  referred  to  the  States.  Therefore 
in  June  the  Democratic  central  committee  called  a  state 
convention  to  meet  in  Raleigh  on  July  9.  Henry  Pitts  of 
Warren,  presided  over  the  meeting  at  which  twenty-nine 
counties,  mostly  in  the  east,  were  represented.  There  was 
much  sentiment  for  James  K.  Polk  of  Tennessee,  in  the 
State,  but  R.  M.  Johnson  seemed  for  every  reason  a  more 
available  candidate  and  received  the  endorsement  of  the  con- 
vention. The  meeting  was  utilized  to  urge  Democratic  ac- 
tivity. 

Two  meetings  were  important  for  the  Whigs.  In  June 
a  great  demonstration  in  Wilmington  celebrated  the  putting 
into  operation  of  the  Wilmington  and  Raleigh  Railroad. 
Morehead  and  Dudley  were  prominent  among  the  speakers 
of  the  meeting  and  the  Whigs  generally  used  the  occasion  to 
emphasize  their  devotion  to  the  cause  of  internal  improve- 
ments. In  the  same  month  the  railroad  and  the  completion 
of  the  new  Capitol  were  magnificently  celebrated  in  Raleigh, 
and  a  second  and  like  opportunity  was  thus  given  for  the  dis- 
semination of  Whig  doctrines. 

In  July  a  great  Whig  meeting  was  held  at  Salisbury 
for  Rowan  and  fifteen  neighboring  counties.  The  presence 
of  two  soldiers  of  the  Revolution  was  a  feature  of  the  oc- 
casion. Speeches,  processions,  banquets,  log  cabins,  coon 
skins  and  live  coons,  and  hard  cider  all  united  to  make  the 
day  truly  characteristic. 

The  election  which  came  in  August  only  intensified 
party  enthusiasm.  The  early  returns  indicated  Democratic 
success,  but  in  a  short  time  the  completeness  of  the  Whig 
victory  was  apparent.     Morehead  carried  forty-one  counties 


66  James  Spritnt  Historical  Publication's 

out  of  the  sixtj-six  then  existent  and  his  popular  majority 
was  8,581.  Twenty-two  of  the  counties  were  in  the  East  and 
this  is  indicative  of  the  fact  that  the  Whig  party  was  out- 
growing the  sectionalism  which  had  been  occasioned  by  the 
peculiar  conditions  of  its  origin  in  North  Carolina.  Of  the 
western  counties  the  Democrats  carried  only  Ashe,  Lincoln, 
Mecklenburg,  Rockingham,  Stokes,  and  Yancey.  A  Whig 
legislature  was  chosen  at  the  same  time. 

Although  defeated  the  Democrats  did  not  slacken  their 
efforts.  Saunders  did  not  at  all  lessen  his  activity  and  re- 
mained on  the  stump  until  November  as  did  Bedford  Brown, 
Louis  D.  Henry,  and  others.  The  Democratic  papers  be- 
came more  active,  addresses  were  issued  urging  interest  and 
hard  work,  and  the  charges  against  opponents  were  doubled 
and  redoubled.  The  Whigs  felt  that  their  cause  was  safe, 
but  they  determined  not  to  be  deceived  as  they  had  been  in 
1836.  So  every  effort  was  put  forth.  To  revive  all  possible 
drooping  interest  a  Whig  convention  was  summoned  to  meet 
in  Raleigh  on  October  5.  It  was  a  scene  of  wild  enthusiasm. 
Judge  Gaston's  "Carolina"  was  sung  for  the  first  time  in 
public  and  the  words  were  then  published  for  the  first  time. 
A  letter  was  read  from  Henry  Clay  in  which  he  declared  the 
contest  to  be  between  the  President  and  the  people,  between 
arbitrary  power  and  constitutional  liberty.  John  Owen  pre- 
sided and  ten  of  the  most  prominent  Whigs  of  the  State  made 
speeches,  including  George  E.  Badger,  Edward  Stanly,  D. 
M.  Barringer,  Kenneth  Rayner,  Lewis  Williams,  and  Rev. 
Josiah  Crudup.  The  sensation  of  the  meeting  was  Badger's 
speech.  He  had  been  exceedingly  active  in  the  campaign  and 
was  regarded  as  the  greatest  power  of  the  party  in  the  State. 
His  speech,  which  was  printed  in  pamphlet  form  and  given 
wide  circulation,  was  a  powerful  effort.  Interestingly 
enough,  he  dictated  it,  while  walking  up  and  down  in  his 
office,  and  it  was  transcribed  by  Henry  W.  Miller.  It  had 
great  effect  and  did  much  to  bring  him  the  high  honor  he 
presently  received. 

A  word  as  to  the  previous  career  of  Badger  is  in  order 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  67 

since  with  this  campaign  he  assumed  a  leading  position  in 
North  Carolina  politics.  Born  in  New  Bern  in  1796  he  was 
there  prepared  for  college.  He  was  a  student  at  Yale  for 
two  years,  but  his  means  failed  and  he  returned  home  and 
commenced  the  study  of  law  under  John  Stanly.  At  the  age 
of  nineteen  years  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  almost  im- 
mediately he  was  appointed  solicitor  for  his  district.  In 
1816  he  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  from  New- 
bern.  While  there  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Thomas 
Buffin,  then  speaker  of  the  House  and  a  strong  friendship 
developing  between  the  two,  Buffin,  who  had  just  been  ele- 
vated to  the  bench,  asked  Badger  to  go  to  Hillsboro  and  take 
his  practice.  Badger  consenting,  moved  to  Hillsboro  and 
lived  there  for  several  years,  removing  later  to  Warrenton, 
the  former  home  of  his  wife.  In  1820  he  was  elected  to  the 
Superior  bench  and  served  for  five  years,  retiring  at  the  end 
of  that  time  to  Baleigh  where  he  again  began  the  practice  of 
law.  In  politics  Badger  was  by  inheritance  and  tempera- 
ment a  Federalist,  and  while  in  1828  he  was  a  strong  sup- 
porter of  Jackson  and  was  commonly  supposed  to  be  slated 
for  the  position  of  attorney-general  in  the  latter's  cabinet, 
he  broke  with  him  by  1832  and  in  1836  was  a  Whig  leader. 
Badger  was  pre-eminently  a  lawyer  and  there  he  attained  his 
greatest  reputation,  but  he  was  a  logical  and  powerful  speak- 
er, and  of  great  power  in  political  campaigns.  Personally 
he  was  with  his  intimates  a  genial,  humorous  man,  noted  for 
his  charm  in  conversation  and  for  his  inexhaustible  fund  of 
anecdotes.  He  was  in  strong  contrast  to  Graham  who  was 
always  severely  grave  and  formal  and  who  possessed  great 
dignity  and  impressiveness  of  manner.  Unlike  as  the  two 
were  in  manner,  it  is  most  likely  that  they  differed  little,  if 
at  all,  in  their  inner  attitude  towards  the  mass  of  the  people. 
Returning  to  the  convention,  it  issued  a  declaration  of 
principles  in  which  the  following  appeared:  "We  declare 
the  leaders  of  the  Party  in  Power  unworthy  the  confidence 
of  a  free  people  because  they  have  violated  every  pledge  they 
have  given  to  the  Nation."    That  party  in  power  was  attacked 


68  James  Spkunt  Historical  Publications 

for  extravagance,  currency  evils,  the  spoils  system,  oppo- 
sition to  the  will  of  the  people,  the  destruction  of  the  bank 
and  the  substitution  of  the  sub-treasury  scheme,  the  scarcity 
of  specie  and  the  issue  of  treasury  drafts,  and  the  increase 
of  the  officers  of  the  army  and  navy.  Harrison  was  endorsed 
as  a  distinguished  stateman  who  was  the  foe  of  all  evil,  cor- 
ruption, and  usurpation  of  power,  and  "because  in  his  char- 
acter and  services  he  more  nearly  than  any  man  now  living 
approaches  to  the  Father  of  his  Country,  the  illustrious 
Washington." 

A  ripple  of  excitement  was  caused  during  the  presidential 
campaign  when  William  Montgomery  and  M.  T.  Hawkins, 
two  Democratic  members  of  Congress,  issued  from  Washing- 
ton a  circular  against  Harrison.  Immediately  Stanly,  Lewis 
Williams,  Rayner,  and  Deberry  replied  defending  Harrison. 
Stanly  also  wrote  a  reply  addressed  to  the  people  of  his 
district  as  did  James  Graham.  Harrison  was  spared  no 
charge  that  might  injure  him.  If  one  might  believe  the 
Democratic  papers  he  was  not  only  the  climax  of  incapacity 
and  inefficiency,  but  also  a  man  guilty  of  every  possible 
cruelty  and  wrong. 

The  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Harrison  electors 
by  a  popular  majority  of  13,141.  He  carried  forty-five 
counties. 

Several  interesting  things  became  apparent  in  the  cam- 
paign, first  and  most  important  of  which  was  the  marked 
effect  which  abolition  agitation  in  the  North  was  having 
upon  the  minds  of  the  people  of  North  Carolina.  The  second 
is  the  existence  among  the  Whigs  of  a  line  of  cleavage  be- 
tween what  were  known  as  "Federal"  Whigs  and  "Repub- 
lican" Whigs.  The  factions  could  unite  perfectly  against  the 
common  enemy,  but  they  had  no  undying  love  for  each  other. 
The  factions  thus  formed  and  thus  apparent  remained  in 
existence  as  long  as  the  Whig  party  was  alive  in  North  Caro- 
lina. 


OHAPTEK  VI 
THE  LEGISLATURE  OF  1840  AND  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1841 

The  legislature  of  1840  organized  by  electing  Andrew 
Joyner  of  Halifax,  speaker  of  the  Senate  over  Louis  D. 
Wilson  of  Edgecombe,  and  William  A.  Graham  speaker  of 
the  House  of  Commons  without  opposition.  The  Whigs  had 
a  safe  majority  in  the  Senate  and  a  very  large  one  in  the 
House  and  thus  felt  able  to  carry  through  any  program  which 
might  be  determined  upon. 

Governor  Dudley's  message  was  an  elaborate  review  of 
national  political  history  for  the  past  twelve  years,  particular 
attention  being  paid,  however,  to  the  questions  of  the  bank 
and  the  sub-treasury.  In  closing  this  portion  of  his  message, 
he  congratulated  the  State  on  the  sweeping  Whig  victory. 
He  also  congratulated  the  people  on  the  completion  of  two 
railroads,  and  made  an  elaborate  plea  for  and  defense  of 
railroads.  In  connection  with  works  of  improvement  in 
general  he  announced  that  the  survey  of  the  ISTag's  Head 
project  had  been  successful.  He  expressed  the  belief  that 
the  State  was  too  poor  to  carry  out  at  the  time  all  the  schemes 
of  internal  improvement  planned,  but  urged  that  work  be 
earried  on  consistently  and  not  be  stopped.  He  recommend- 
ed that  the  legislature  take  some  steps  for  the  relief  of  the 
unfortunate  and  the  criminal,  suggesting  the  establishment 
of  asylums  and  a  penitentiary.  Calling  attention  to  the  in- 
fluence of  sectionalism  in  the  selection  of  judges,  he  recom- 
mended the  adoption  of  the  district  system.  On  the  whole, 
"the  message  was  an  exceedingly  able  document. 

The  message,  however  able,  made  small  impression  at  the 
time  upon  the  Whigs  in  the  legislature.  Their  minds  were 
set  on  politics,  not  on  statecraft.  The  election  of  two  United 
States  senators  to  them  seemed  to  outweigh  every  other  con- 
sideration and  their  whole  attention  was  directed  to  it  to  the 
exclusion  of  everything  else.  It  was  the  same  story  that  has 
.been  a  familiar  one  ever  since.     The  majority  of  the  mem- 


70  James  Spkunt  Historical  Publications 

bers  of  the  legislature  have  been  selected  in  at  least  two  out 
of  every  three  elections — with  the  feeling  then  excited  con- 
trolling the  third — not  on  the  basis  of  what  they  proposed  to 
do  or  were  capable  of  doing  for  the  State,  but  on  account 
of  their  preference  for  United  States  senator.  Not  the  least 
of  the  benefits  of  the  popular  election  of  senators  is  the  re- 
moval of  this  obstacle  to  the  efficiency  of  state  legislatures. 

Nine  names  were  before  the  legislature  for  choice.  The 
division  already  mentioned  as  existing  among  the  Whigs  now 
became  very  prominent.  The  Federal  Whigs  had  as  favorites 
for  the  two  places  Gaston,  Badger,  Williams,  Caldwell,  and 
Graham,  while  the  Republican  Whigs  supported  Mangum, 
William  B.  Shepard,  John  Owen  and  Governor  Dudley. 
Teeling  was  very  strong  between  the  two  wings,  but  never 
strong  enough  to  threaten  seriously  any  lack  of  united  action. 
The  lines  of  division  are  not  always  entirely  clear  to  us 
to-day.  In  a  sense  the  names  indicate  the  prevailing  views  of 
each  faction.  So  far  as  definite  action  was  demanded,  the 
Federal  Whigs  wished  support  of  the  United  States  Bank 
made  a  test,  while  the  Republican  Whigs  thought  the  senators 
should  be  left  free  to  act  as  occasion  seemed  to  demand. 

The  method  of  securing  party  unity  was  a  caucus.  North 
Carolina  Whigs  had  been  in  the  habit  of  denouncing  the 
caucus  and  the  convention,  but,  as  in  1840,  they  had  adopted 
a  convention,  they  now  definitely  adopted  the  caucus  as  the 
machine  to  secure  party  regularity.  The  legislature  had 
scarcely  assembled  before  one  was  called.  It  was  not  easy 
even  for  the  caucus  to  concile  all  the  differences  in  the  party. 
One  name  was  immediately  eliminated.  William  Gaston's 
election  had  been  suggested  without  his  being  consulted  and 
early  in  November  he  wrote  to  a  friend  declining  the  use  of 
his  name.  His  chief  reason  was  his  disinclination  to  leave  the 
bench.  He  could  have  been  elected  without  .difficulty  so  great 
was  his  popularity  and  his  deserved  reputation  for  ability. 
The  Democrats  were  of  course  supporting  Brown  and 
Strange,  but  of  the  Whigs  it  is  likely  that  they  preferred 
Dudley  and  Shepard.     After  much  discussion,  a  great  deal 


Paety  Politics  in  North  Carolina  71 

of  it  acrimonious,  and  many  meetings,  the  caucus  through  a 
compromise  between  the  two  factions  settled  on  Mangum  for 
the  long  term  and  on  Graham  for  the  short  one,  and  they 
were  elected,  Mangum  receiving  99  votes  to  Brown's  65, 
Graham  98  to  Strange's  64.  Badger,  who  was  thus  passed 
over,  was  recommended  by  the  caucus  to  President  Harrison 
for  the  position  of  attorney-general  in  his  cabinet. 

The  elections  were  generally  accepted,  but  bitter  criticism 
was  heard  from  the  Whigs  in  a  number  of  quarters,  par- 
ticularly in  regard  to  the  selection  of  Graham,  who  was  not 
at  all  well  known  and  who  was  of  comparatively  limited  ex- 
perience. This  feeling  was  particularly  noticeable  in  the 
East,  where  the  choice  of  both  senators  from  Orange  was 
very  unpopular.  They  conceded  Mangum' s  claims  for  a  place 
though  they  had  small  love  for  him  or  confidence  in  his  con- 
sistency or  in  his  motives,  but  they  were  unable  to  accept 
with  calmness  or  silence  the  election  of  Graham.  Mangum 
himself  was  not  without  enemies  and  opponents.  The  Reg- 
ister was  bitterly  opposed  to  his  selection  and  Badger,  apart 
from  any  personal  interest,  was  also  opposed.  Mangum's 
career  had  indeed  been  rather  inconsistent.  Its  general  out- 
lines have  already  been  indicated,  but  it  is  interesting  to 
note  in  addition  his  record  on  various  public  questions.  He 
voted  against  the  recharter  of  the  Bank  in  1832  and  against 
the  distribution  of  public  land  receipts.  He  was  at  this  time 
opposed  to  a  protective  tariff  and  to  internal  improvements 
by  the  national  government.  He  had  been  on  both  sides  of 
the  bank  question.  The  following  authorized  statement  of 
his  political  views  in  1838,  in  fact  one  written  at  his  own 
request,  is  interesting: 

Willie  P.  Mangum  says  he  never  voted  for  a  bank  in  his 
life,  neither  State  nor  Federal.  He  further  says  he  never 
voted  to  appropriate  a  cent  in  his  life  in  favor  of  Internal 
Improvements  by  the  General  Government  without  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia.  He  further  says  that  he  never  voted  in 
favor  of  a  tariff  of  protection  but  did  and  said  everything  in 
his  power  to  defeat  every  measure  of  that  description.     He 


72  James  Spkunt  Historical  Publications 

further  says  that  he  has  uniformly  voted  in  favor  of  econom- 
ical appropriations  and  has  strongly  disapproved  of  the  in- 
crease of  expenditures  to  upwards  of  $38,000,000,  at  one  or 
two  years  and  the  general  increase  at  all  times  for  the  last 
four  or  five  years  by  the  general  Government.  That  he  pro- 
fesses and  hopes  that  he  has  acted  uniformly  upon  the  prin- 
ciples of  strict  construction  of  '98  and  '99,  and  that  he  never 
consented  to  be  harnessed  by  any  party  so  as  to  deviate  from 
the  above  principles.  And  he  defies  any  documentary  proof 
in  contradiction  of  any  of  the  essential  principles  contained 
in  the  above.  Mr.  Mangum  further  says  that  he  is  decided- 
ly opposed  to  the  present  Administration,  believing  that  the 
head  of  the  Government  and  many  of  his  friends  have  vio- 
lated the  most  if  not  all  the  essential  principles  contained  in 
the  above. 

The  Democratic  view  was  somewhat  different.  The 
Standard  in  June,  1842,  said: 

Mr.  Mangum  has  been  Federal  and  anti-Federal ;  Jackson 
and  anti- Jackson ;  Calhoun  and  anti-Calhoun ;  Clay  and  anti- 
Clay;  JSTullifier  and  anti-lSTullifier ;  Bank  and  anti-Bank; 
Land  Distribution  and  anti-Land  Distribution;  Bankrupt 
Law  and  anti-Bankrupt  Law;  Internal  Improvements  and 
anti-Internal  Improvements;  Instructionist  and  anti-Instruc- 
tionist.  In  a  word  there  is  hardly  a  respectable  politician  of 
the  State  old  enough  to  have  been  asssociated  with  him  ten 
years  or  more,  who  cannot  remember  the  period  when  Mr. 
Mangum  has  been  upon  his  side  and  upon  the  other  also. 

Both  Graham  and  Mangum  were  in  the  legislature,  the 
latter  as  senator.  Both  resigned  at  once.  Graham's  resigna- 
tion made  necessary  the  election  of  a  new  speaker  and  Robert 
B.  Gilliam  of  Granville,  was  chosen  over  ten  Democrats,  only 
one  of  whom,  Michael  Hoke  of  Lincoln,  received  more  than 
five  votes. 

The  election  of  senators  effected,  the  majority  turned  to 
the  disposition  of  the  other  offices.  The  party  was  deeply 
infected  with  the  spoils  doctrine  though  they  had  denounced 
it  unsparingly  in  national  affairs  and  were  still  doing  so. 
The  Democrats,  while  approving  the  system  in  the  national 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  73 

government,  along  with  the  rest  of  the  Jackson  administra- 
tive policies,  had  never  adopted  it  in  the  State.  Upon  the 
Whigs,  largely,  rests  the  responsibility  for  its  introduction. 
In  1834  a  Democratic  House  of  Commons  elected  an  opposi- 
tion speaker  and  the  legislature,  Democratic  on  joint  ballot, 
re-elected  Swain,  a  Whig  governor,  and  Hill,  a  Whig  secre- 
tary of  state.  The  treasurer  resigned  and  a  Whig  was 
chosen.  In  the  case  of  the  lesser  offices  no  party  distinction 
was  made.  In  1835  the  Whig  secretary  and  comptroller  were 
re-elected  by  a  Democratic  legislature  and  Whigs  were  also 
chosen  to  most  of  the  lesser  offices  and  positions.  In  1836, 
when  the  Whigs  came  into  power  in  the  Senate,  they  defeated 
Moseley  for  speaker  on  account  of  party.  With  the  rise  of 
party  government  this  was  entirely  proper  and  it  is  only 
mentioned  to  show  the  tendency  of  the  Whigs  to  make  party 
affiliation  the  test  of  qualification.  The  Democrats  at  the 
same  session  had  a  majority  on  joint  ballot  and  re-elected 
the  Whig  secretary,  filled  a  vacancy  in  the  comptroller's  office 
with  a  Whig,  elected  four  Whig  judges — all  that  were  chosen 
— and  two  Whig  solicitors  out  of  three  elected.  In  1838  the 
Whigs  elected  both  speakers  and  all  the  clerks  but  two.  The 
secretary  of  state,  the  comptroller,  and  all  seven  councillors 
were  Whigs.  The  treasurer  resigned  and  a  Whig  was  elected 
to  the  vacancy.  Of  the  seven  Superior  Court  judges  at  the 
time  five  were  Whigs,  and  of  the  six  solicitors  five  were 
Whigs ;  the  attorney  general  was  a  Democrat. 

At  this  session  Hill  was  unanimously  re-elected  secretary 
of  state  and  W.  F.  Collins,  the  Whig  comptroller,  was  also 
re-elected.  In  the  election  of  solicitors,  David  Outlaw,  a 
Whig,  was  chosen  in  the  first  district  over  Asa  Biggs,  a  Demo- 
crat; in  the  sixth,  Hamilton  C.  Jones,  a  Whig,  was  chosen 
over  Bartlett  Shipp  and  J.  R.  Dodge,  the  incumbent,  both  of 
whom  were  Whigs;  in  the  seventh,  James  W.  Gruinn,  the 
Democratic  incumbent,  was  replaced  by  John  Gray  Bynum,  a 
Whig.  J.  R.  J.  Daniel,  the  Democratic  attorney  general,  was 
defeated  by  Hugh  McQueen,  a  Whig.  Two  judges  were  chos- 
en, William  H.  Battle,  a  Whig,  being  elected  over  Romulus 


74  James  Spkunt  Historical  Publications 

M.  Saunders  to  succeed  Judge  Toomer,  and  M.  E.  Manly,  an- 
other Whig,  was  elected  over  Edward  Hall  to  succeed  Judge 
Saunders.  The  Whigs  in  the  summer  campaign  had  declared 
that  Saunders  ought  not  to  be  elected  governor  if  for  no  other 
reason  than  that  he  had  been  nominated  while  on  the  bench. 
They  were  determined  now  to  prevent  his  return.  The  Coun- 
cil of  State  was  divided  between  the  parties. 

The  work  of  the  legislature  in  connection  with  internal 
improvements  is  particularly  interesting.  To  assist  the  Wil- 
mington and  Raleigh  Railroad,  its  bonds  to  the  amount  of 
$300,000  were  endorsed  in  return  for  a  mortgage  on  the 
road.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  1836  the  legislature 
had  authorized  the  Board  of  Internal  Improvements  to  take 
three-fifths  of  the  stock  of  the  road.  The  position  of  the 
parties  in  these  two  legislatures  on  the  questions  alluded  to 
is  of  interest  as  an  indication  of  the  general  situation. 

1836 

SENATE 

Ayes        Nays 

Whigs 17  5 

Democrats    9  8 

HOUSE 

Ayes  Nays 

Whigs 41  9 

Democrats    20  23 

1840 

SENATE 

Ayes         Nays 

Whigs 21  3 

Democrats    2  16 

HOUSE 

Ayes        Nays 

Whigs 51  16 

Democrats    4  34 

Following  out  the  precedent  set  in  1839  and  to  aid  im- 
mediately the  Raleigh  and  Gaston  Railroad,  which  in  Janu- 
ary,  1841,   suspended  operations,  the  legislature  heeded  a 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  75 

special  message  of  Governor  Morehead  recommending  action 
and  endorsed  its  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $300,000.  For  the 
sake  of  securing  the  State  against  loss,  it  was  provided  that  the 
road  should  give  a  mortgage  and  that  the  stockholders  per- 
sonally should  also  give  a  bond  of  half  a  million  dollars.  It 
was  also  provided  that  no  dividends  should  be  paid  until  the 
road  was  out  of  debt.  The  road  was  authorized  to  charge 
up  to  ten  cents  a  mile.  Even  the  Democratic  press  favored 
the  relief  of  the  Raleigh  and  Gaston  which  was  regarded  as 
highly  important.  State  aid  was  extended  to  a  turnpike 
from  Rutherford  County  to  Buncombe  County.  The  usual 
resolution  was  passed  asking  federal  aid  in  opening  Roanoke 
Inlet  near  Nag's  Head.  This  was  done  amid  the  jeers  of  the 
Democrats  who  professed — and  rightly  so — to  see  in  it  noth- 
ing but  buncombe  of  the  purest  ray.  Sectional  feeling  was 
very  strong  among  the  Whigs  and  particularly  so  after  the 
election  of  senators.  William  B.  Shepard,  who  had  de- 
clined to  return  to  Congress  in  order  to  go  to  the  legislature 
and  work  for  the  interests  of  the  East,  and  particularly  for 
the  reopening  of  the  inlet,  which  was  the  pet  scheme  of  the 
northeastern  section  of  the  State,  attacked  the  Whigs  in  a 
sharp  speech  for  considering  the  West  alone.  He  declared 
that  when  in  power  they  were  not  to  be  distinguished  from 
Democrats  and  he  intimated  that  their  promises  were  not  at 
all  to  be  relied  on.  His  speech  was  not  at  all  welcome  to  the 
Whigs  and  those  from  the  West  resented  it  openly  and  bitter- 
ly. Their  champion  was  Thomas  L.  Clingman,  now  entering 
upon  a  career  of  unusual  interest  and  importance.  He  pro- 
ceeded to  read  Shepard  out  of  the  party,  declaring  that  the 
latter  was  only  piqued  because  he  had  failed  of  election  to  the 
United  States  Senate  and  that  his  charges  were  false.  True 
to  his  cult,  one  which  he  shared  with  the  other  politicians,  he 
charged  that  Shepard  was  attacking  the  great  Whig  party  for 
selfish  reasons.  Shepard's  reply  was  very  able  and  exceed- 
ingly caustic.  In  answer  to  the  last  charge,  he  said :  "Artful 
and  cunning  men  always  sound  the  tocsin  of  party,  when 
they  wish,  for  a  selfish  purpose  to  impose  upon  others ;  'The 


76  James  Sprttnt  Historical  Publications 

party  is  in  danger'  has  been  the  cry  ever  since  the  birth  of 
the  Albany  Regency,  of  hypocrisy  and  meanness." 

Other  interesting  doings  of  the  legislature  were  the  ap- 
propriation of  $3,000  to  repair  and  refurnish  the  governor's 
mansion,  notable  only  for  the  criticism  it  later  excited,  the 
loan  of  $10,000  to  help  Wake  Forest  College,  the  incorpora- 
tion of  five  academies,  eight  turnpikes  and  six  manufactur- 
ing plants.  The  effect  of  the  anti-slavery  propaganda  was 
to  be  seen  in  several  laws  lessening  the  rights  of  slaves  and 
free  negroes.  The  State  Library  was  re-established,  a  new 
and  improved  school  law  was  passed,  and  three  new  counties, 
Cleveland,  Caldwell  and  Stanley,  were  established.  Elections 
in  the  State  for  the  first  time  were  made  uniform  as  to  time. 
A  strong  series  of  resolutions  condemning  any  use  of  the  pub- 
lic lands  save  their  sale  and  the  distribution  of  the  proceeds 
among  the  States  was  passed  after  considerable  debate.  The 
delegation  in  Congress  was  requested  to  urge  this  view  and  a 
Democratic  amendment  substituting  the  word  "instruct" 
for  "request"  was  defeated  by  a  strict  party  vote.  The  Demo- 
crats took  much  comfort  in  thus  putting  the  Whigs  on 
record  in  opposition  to  the  right  of  instruction — as  if  there 
was  need  of  putting  them  more  on  record  than  they  already 
were — saying  that  the  Whigs  were  denying  a  right  in  which 
all  North  Carolinians  believed.  This  was  of  course  far  from 
true,  but  it  was  so  far  true  that  the  Whigs  were  afraid  to 
stand  on  such  ground,  and  they  replied  that  they  had  not 
denied  the  right  of  instruction,  but  were  only  unanimously 
voting  down  factious  opposition.  Many  North  Carolina 
Whigs  believed  in  instructions  and  the  party  dared  not  make 
the  issue. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Whigs  could  not  afford  to  make 
many  clear  cut  tests  of  principle.  The  component  elements 
of  the  party  were  too  heterogeneous  and  there  were  too  many 
shades  of  opinion  included.  This  was  of  course  the  great 
weakness  of  the  party  both  in  State  and  Nation.  In  the  cam- 
paign of  1840  they  had  called  themselves  Democratic  Whigs, 
Democratic  Republican  Whigs,   and  even  Democrats.     As 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  77 

soon  as  the  election  was  won  they  began  to  saj  that  they 
were  the  Democrats  because  "the  majority  are  necessarily 
the  Democrats." 

The  legislature  ignored  one  proposal  which  was  destined 
to  be  heard  from  again.  Green  W.  Caldwell  of  Mecklenburg 
introduced  a  bill  for  a  constitutional  amendment  which  would 
remove  the  freehold  qualification  for  voting  for  members  of 
the  Senate.  The  Whigs  did  not  think  the  proposal  required 
any  special  attention,  regarding  it  only  as  a  manifestation 
of  the  "levelling"  character  of  the  Democratic  party.  The 
Whig  party  in  North  Carolina  cannot  be  said  to  have  been 
aristocratic ;  no  party  in  North  Carolina  could  ever  be  or  ever 
have  been  that  with  any  possibility  of  success  or  even  of  con- 
tinued existence  as  a  party.  But  an  aristocratic  tendency 
was  easily  perceptible  and  this  increased  as  the  party  gained 
strength  in  the  East.  It  was  its  western  strength  which  kept 
the  party  in  the  straight  path.  But  the  leaders,  many  of 
them,  in  private  had  small  confidence  in  the  people  or  in  their 
ability  to  rule,  if  indeed  their  attitude  may  not  be  properly 
described  as  contemptuous.  This  was  particularly  true  of 
the  so-called  Federal  Whigs.  This  point  of  view  was  not 
unknown  to  some  in  the  State;  but  the  fact  of  continued 
Whig  success  and  supremacy  during  a  period  of  fourteen 
years  is  proof  positive  that  it  was  never  known  generally.  The 
Democrats  felt  it  and  their  speakers  and  their  newspapers  em- 
phasized it  at  every  opportunity  but  they  could  not  mai,e  the 
people  believe  it.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  Whig 
leaders,  regardless  of  their  essential  democracy  or  lack  of 
democracy,  were  in  the  main  high-minded,  patriotic  men 
who  were,  several  of  them,  statesmen  of  high  rank,  who  would 
have  attained  even  higher  place  in  almost  any  other  State 
than  North  Carolina.  They  were  in  their  prime  in  the  early 
forties  and  were  backed  by  a  united  and  highly  organized 
party.  The  Democrats,  in  contrast,  had  no  leaders  of  even 
local  first  rank.  They  had  no  leader  who,  commanding  the 
undivided  support  of  the  party,  could  perfect  an  organiza- 
tion which  might  hope  to  challenge  the  superbly  organized 


78  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

Whig  machine.  Bedford  Brown  lacked  magnetism  and  was 
inclined  to  abstractions.  Robert  Strange  was  a  fine,  high- 
minded  man,  but  he  was  fanciful  and  high-flown  and  was 
utterly  unable  to  reach  the  people  effectively.  Saunders  was 
primarily  a  politician.  Louis  D.  Henry  of  Cumberland,  had 
many  qualities  of  leadership,  but  was  vulnerable  at  many 
points.  A  number  of  young  men  gave  promise,  notable 
among  whom  were  Charles  Shepard,  whose  career,  however, 
was  to  be  cut  short  a  year  or  two  later.  Not  only  in  states- 
manship, but  in  practical  politics  the  Whigs  were  superior 
and  it  was  no  wonder  that  they  distanced  their  opponents  with 
considerable  ease. 

In  another  respect  the  Whigs  had  an  advantage.  In  1840 
there  were  thirty-one  newspapers  in  the  State,  twenty- 
five  of  which  were  political.  Of  these  seventeen  were 
Whig  and  eight  Democratic.  This  would  have  been  a 
greater  advantage  than  it  was  but  for  the  presence  in 
North  Carolina  of  59,609  white  adults  who  could  neither 
read  nor  write.  Another  thing  which  weakened  the 
Whig  press  was  the  fact  that  practically  every  editor  was  a 
Northern  man.  Gales  of  the  Register  was  by  descent  and  in 
point  of  view  English  and,  in  spite  of  the  history  of  the  news- 
paper, was  distinctly  Federalists.  The  Democrats,  there- 
fore, had  much  to  say  of  "Yankee  editors"  and  "Northern 
Influence."  Until  1841  the  Standard  was  edited  by  Thomas 
Loring,  who  was  a  Northerner,  but  he  left  it  in  that  year  and 
started  a  paper  of  his  own  which  three  years  later  was  sup- 
porting the  Whig  candidates  and  Whig  doctrines,  while  the 
Standard  was  advertised  for  sale.  Out  of  this  apparent  loss 
of  Democratic  strength  was  to  arise  a  new  and  far  more  effi- 
cient leader  of  the  Democracy  and  a  new  power  in  North 
Carolina. 

The  congressional  elections  in  1841  came  in  May  and  the 
campaign  thus  followed  close  on  the  heels  of  the  legislative 
session.  In  March  the  North  Carolina  banks  all  suspended 
specie  payments  and  the  unsettled  financial  conditions  played 
some  part  in  the  campaign,  all  to  the  advantage  of  the  Whig 
party.    Most  things  were  to  Whig  advantage  at  this  time  and 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  79 

tlie  remarkable  tiling  is  that  they  were  not  able  to  accomplish 
more  in  the  election  now  described.  As  it  was  they  succeeded 
in  winning  three  additional  seats. 

In  the  first  district,  Rayner  was  again  returned,  defeat- 
ing R.  H.  Ballard.  In  the  second,  J.  P.  J.  Daniel,  who  had 
been  ousted  from  the  position  of  attorney-general,  replaced 
Jesse  A.  Bynum,  who,  after  four  terms,  declined  to  be  a 
candidate.  He  defeated  William  W.  Cherry.  Edward  Stan- 
ly was  unopposed  in  the  third,  Charles  Shepard  declined  to 
run  in  the  fourth  and  William  A.  Washington  of  Craven,  a 
Whig,  defeated  Dr.  Josiah  O.  Watson.  In  the  fifth,  James 
J.  McKay  was  as  strong  as  ever  and  defeated  Mr.  Baker,  a 
Whig  opponent.  Three  Democrats — M.  T.  Hawkins,  the 
sitting  member,  William  Russell  and  Archibald  H.  Arring- 
ton — contested  the  sixth,  the  last-mentioned  being  success- 
ful. Edmund  Deberry  maintained  his  strength  in  the  seventh 
and  defeated  Edward  McCollum.  Romulus  M.  Saunders 
defeated  Dr.  James  S.  Smith  of  Orange  in  the  eighth.  A.  H. 
Shepperd,  after  a  term's  absence,  defeated  David  S.  Reid  in 
the  ninth.  Two  Whigs — Abraham  Rencher  and  Jonathan 
Worth — waged  a  heated  contest  in  the  tenth,  the  former  win- 
ning easily.  Henry  W.  Connor,  after  twenty  years  of  consecu- 
tive and  active  service,  declined  to  be  a  candidate  again  in  the 
eleventh  and  Green  W.  Caldwell  succeeded  him,  defeating  D. 
M.  Barringer.  Two  Whigs — James  Graham,  the  sitting  mem- 
ber, and  Thomas  L.  Clingman,  the  new  and  rising  star  of  the 
West,  contested  the  twelfth,  Graham  winning  but  with  some 
difficulty.  In  the  thirteenth,  Lewis  Williams,  the  "Father 
of  the  House,"  then  serving  his  thirteenth  consecutive  term, 
was  chosen  for  the  fourteenth  and  last  time.  He  died  Febru- 
ary 23,  1842.  His  opponent  was  R.  Murchison.  After  his 
death  Anderson  Mitchell  was  elected  to  succeed  him. 

The  Whigs  were  naturally  highly  elated  at  their  in- 
creased majority,  but  the  change  in  national  affairs  and 
national  politics  caused  by  the  death  of  President  Harrison 
and  the  accession  of  John  Tyler  was  soon  to  dampen  their 
ardor  considerably.  The  discussion  of  that,  however,  belongs 
to  another  chapter. 


OHAPTEE  VII 
THE  CAMPAIGN  AND  LEGISLATURE  OF  1842 

The  break  in  the  national  Whig  party  resulted  from 
Tyler's  vetoes  of  the  two  bank  bills,  beyond  inflicting  keen 
disappointment,  had  but  small  effect  in  JSTorth  Carolina.  The 
Whig  party  in  the  State  was  too  strongly  intrenched  to  be 
seriously  injured.  It  intensified  their  devotion  to  Clay  and 
they  were  entirely  in  sympathy  with  the  quarrel  with  the 
President.  Badger  resigned  from  the  cabinet  and  Mangum 
took  a  leading  part  in  the  activities  of  the  Whigs  in  Congress, 
offering  the  resolution  in  the  caucus  for  a  Whig  address 
against  Tyler  and  in  general  directing  the  work  of  the  caucus 
in  organizing  against  him.  He  gained  such  reputation  and 
influence  in  this  way  that  on  May  31,  1842,  upon  the  resigna- 
tion of  Senator  Southard,  of  New  Jersey,  he  was  chosen 
president  pro  tern,  of  the  Senate  to  succeed  him  and  thus  was 
placed  in  direct  succession  to  the  presidency.  He  was  elected 
again  at  the  succeeding  session  and  the  President's  fortu- 
nate departure  from  the  deck  of  the  Princeton  a  few  mo- 
ments before  the  explosion  which  killed  two  members  of  his 
Cabinet  alone  probably  prevented  Mangum's  accession  to  the 
presidency. 

The  Democratic  convention  of  1842  met  on  January  10, 
at  Raleigh.  Only  twenty-four  counties  were  represented  and 
about  one  hundred  delegates  were  present.  It  was  not  a  par- 
ticularly enthusiastic  gathering  but  its  work  is  interesting. 
Henry  Fitts  of  Warren  was  the  presiding  officer  and  Louis 
D.  Henry  of  Cumberland,  was  unanimously  nominated  for 
governor.  The  platform  demanded  the  resumption  of  specie 
payments  by  the  JSTorth  Carolina  banks,  but  practically  all 
the  rest  of  it  was  devoted  to  national  affairs.  The  Whigs 
were  sharply  attacked  for  spending  three  thousand  dollars 
on  the  funeral  of  President  Harrison.  This  piece  of  petty 
peanut  politics  excited  the  anger  and  contempt  of  William  H. 
Haywood  who  made  a  vehement  but  entirely  fruitless  pro- 


Paety  Politics  in  Nokth  Carolina  81 

test  to  the  convention  against  it.  The  convention  was  notable 
for  the  appearance  and  prominence  of  four  men  who  were 
later  to  be  party  leaders  of  note  and  influence,  namely,  W.  W. 
Avery,  David  S.  Reid,  Thomas  Bragg,  and  John  W.  Ellis, 
the  three  last-named  future  governors  of  the  State.  All  made 
speeches  which  excited  comment.  Henry  also  appeared  and 
made  a  speech  which  was  regarded  as  exceptional.  Soon 
after  the  convention  he  wrote  a  letter  of  acceptance  which 
was  a  document  of  alarming  length  containing  not  one  word 
in  regard  to  state  affairs.  His  platform  as  drawn  from  his 
letter  was  as  follows:  "Free  Trade — No  Taxes  for  Protec- 
tion— No  Monopolies  or  Exclusive  Privileges — Bank  Re- 
form." 

Louis  D.  Henry  was  born  in  New  Jersey  in  1788  and 
graduating  from  Princeton  in  1809  came  to  North  Carolina 
to  read  law  under  his  uncle,  Edward  Graham  of  New  Bern. 
Upon  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  settled  at  Fayetteville  and 
soon  gained  distinction  in  his  profession.  He  was  a  fiery 
and  aggressive  speaker,  but  was  noted  for  the  charm  and 
courtesy  of  his  manner.  He  was  a  man  of  extensive  knowl- 
edge gained  from  wide  reading.  His  temper  was  high  and 
about  1812  he  became  involved  in  a  quarrel  with  Thomas  J. 
Stanly  over  a  trivial  matter  and  a  duel  followed  resulting 
in  the  death  of  Stanly.  In  1821  and  1822  he  was  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Commons  from  Cumberland  County  and  in 
1830,  1831  and  1832  he  represented  the  borough  of  Fayette- 
ville. Van  Buren  appointed  him  minister  to  Belgium,  but 
he  declined  to  serve.  He  did,  however,  accept  from  Van 
Buren  an  appointment  as  commissioner  to  settle  claims 
against  Spain.  Out  of  his  services  in  this  capacity  the  Whigs 
obtained  some  amusing  campaign  material. 

The  Whigs  had  been  somewhat  of  the  opinion  that  the 
opposition  would  not  name  a  candidate  for  governor  and  they 
now  asked  with  apparent  wonder  why  there  should  be  any 
opposition  to  Morehead,  at  the  same  time  attributing  it  to 
what  they  called  the  unappeasable  appetite  of  the  Democrats 
for  omce.    There  had  been  doubt  as  to  the  holding  of  a  state 


82  James  Speunt  Historical  Publications 

convention  but  the  action  of  the  Democrats  removed  this, 
and  on  April  4,  1842,  the  Whig  convention  met  at  Raleigh. 
H.  P.  Poindexter  was  temporary  chairman  and  Alfred  Dock- 
ery  was  president.  Thirty-five  counties  were  represented. 
The  platform  repudiated  Tyler  and  declared  the  Whigs  for 
the  future  absolved  of  all  responsibility  for  his  acts.  More- 
head  was  unanimously  nominated  for  governor  and  Henry 
(Clay  was  declared  to  be  the  first,  last,  and  only  choice  of  the 
party  in  North  Carolina  for  the  presidency  in  1844.  This 
started  the  movement  in  his  favor  and  other  States  followed. 
It  had  been  thought  that  a  candidate  for  the  vice-presidency 
would  also  be  named,  but  no  mention  was  made  of  one  and 
the  opposition  declared  that  the  omission  was  due  to  a  desire 
and  expectation  that  some  other  State  would  name  Badger 
for  the  position.  How  far  this  is  true  cannot  at  this  date 
be  determinated.  The  platform  also  declared  for  distribu- 
tion. The  convention  recommended  the  same  thorough  county 
organization  which  had  been  so  successful  in  1840,  but  the 
party  had  to  some  extent  lost  its  head  and,  being  entirely  con- 
fident, did  nothing. 

The  campaign  had  many  of  the  characteristics  of  those 
which  had  preceded  it.  There  was  the  same  denunciation, 
the  same  charges,  and  the  same  demagogical  politics.  Each 
party  interestingly  enough  still  charged  the  other  with  feder- 
alism. Needless  to  say,  each  party  also  studiously  avoided  the 
discussion  of  state  affairs.  The  central  committees  of  each 
issued  long  addresses  without  more  than  the  mere  mention 
of  the  State.  Each  party  tried  to  emphasize  the  extrava- 
gance of  the  other  and  since  the  Whigs  were  in  power  in  State 
and  Nation,  the  Democrats  had  the  decided  advantage  here. 
The  funeral  expenses  of  President  Harrison  continued  to  be 
denounced  as  did  the  furnishing  of  the  new  Capitol  and  the 
refurnishing  of  the  governor's  mansion.  The  Standard, 
calling  attention  to  Morehead's  horror  in  1840  at  the  ex- 
travagant use  of  "soap  and  towels"  in  Washington,  said, 
"That  a  man  who  talked  so  much  about  'soap  and  towels' 
should  have  been  cautious  about  bringing  in  such  a  bill  for 


Paety  Politics  in  North  Carolina  83 

'napkins';  that  he  who  lauded  gourds  as  proper  vessels  for 
drinking  should  not  have  given  $3.75  for  sugar  tongs,  $3.50 
•for  butter  knives,  $45  for  a  set  of  dining  table,  $30  for  tea 
trays,  $95  for  a  set  of  plated  ware,  $10.50  for  one  soup  ladle, 
50  cents  a  piece  for  tumblers,  $4.50  for  decanters,  $2.50 
for  a  punch  bowl,  nor  anything  for  'nut  crackers.'  We  do 
not  say  this  is  wrong;  only  so  far  as  it  is  wrong  to  profess 
one  thing  as  a  candidate  and  do  another  as  Governor." 

The  Whigs  as  far  as  possible  retaliated  in  kind.  They 
denounced  Henry  at  every  turn  for  having  received  a  salary 
as  commissioner  of  $5,304.31  and  the  Register  printed  the 
figures  in  heavy  black  type  at  the  head  of  a  column  in  every 
issue.  When  Henry  went  to  Washington  in  1836  to  take  up 
his  duties  as  commissioner,  he  announced  to  the  secretary 
of  state  that  he  had  convened  and  organized.  The  story  was 
now  revived  and  the  Whigs  promptly  dubbed  him  "The 
Great  Convener."  The  Register  which  made  fun  of  him 
during  the  whole  campaign,  said : 

If  Mr.  Henry,  when  but  a  commissioner,  was  able  to  as- 
semble by  himself,  then,  he  was,  by  himself,  an  Assembly. 
Supposing  him  elected  Governor  of  the  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina, he  will  also  by  virtue  of  his  office  be  a  Captain  General, 
and  therefore,  it  clearly  follows  that  as  soon  as  he  shall 
convene  as  Governor  in  the  City  of  Raleigh,-  he  will  be  in  his 
own  proper  person  a  GENEKAL  ASSEMBLY. 

The  canvass  was  opened  early  in  the  spring  at  Hillsboro 
where  both  candidates  were  present  but  only  Henry  spoke. 
He  was  in  very  bad  health,  and  fearing  that  he  would  be 
unable  to  continue  the  campaign,  he  at  once  went  to  the  West 
and  canvassed  it  from  February  to  May  when  he  gave  up 
and  retired  from  the  canvass.  The  Whigs  now  felt  easy  and 
relaxed  all  their  efforts. 

On  May  20,  the  Democrats  had  a  great  ratification  con- 
vention in  Salisbury,  called  for  the  purpose  of  impressing  the 
West.  It  issued  an  address  most  of  which  as  usual  was  in 
regard  to  national  affairs,  but  in  which  the  state  Whig 
Administration  was  charged   with   the   spoils   system,   pro- 


84  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

scription,  and  extravagance.  The  meeting  was  expected  by 
the  Whigs  at  least,  to  take  some  action  in  the  way  of  nomi- 
nating a  presidential  candidate.  There  was  much  Calhoun 
preference  observable  among  the  members  of  the  convention 
but  no  action  was  taken.  Robert  Strange,  Michael  Hoke, 
Bedford  Brown,  and  David  S.  Reid  were  the  chief  speakers 
at  the  meeting  and  letters  were  read  from  Calhoun,  Levi 
Woodbury,  and  James  Buchanan. 

One  fairly  significant  fact  of  the  campaign  was  the  hold- 
ing of  a  meeting  in  Lenoir  County  to  protest  against  the  free- 
hold qualification  for  voting  for  senators.  Every  mention  of 
the  subject  strengthened  it  for  a  future  issue. 

The  election  was  held  in  August  amidst  the  repeated 
warnings  of  each  party  that  fraud  was  to  be  expected  from  the 
other.  There  is  no  indication  that  there  was  any.  More- 
head's  majority  was  only  3,532,  or  5,049  less  than  in  1840. 
But  the  total  vote  in  1840  was  80,000,  which  was  nearly 
15,000  larger  than  in  any  previous  election.  At  this  election 
the  total  vote  was  72,000  and  nearly  all  the  loss  fell  on  the 
Whigs,  the  Democratic  vote  being  less  than  two  thousand 
short  of  the  figures  of  1840.  Whig  overconfidence,  increased 
by  Henry's  leaving  the  active  canvass,  was  responsible.  But 
the  reduced  majority  was  a  small  thing  compared  to  the  loss 
of  the  legislature.  The  Democrats,  who  were  well  organized 
for  them  and  who  had  never  relaxed  their  efforts,  won  both 
houses  and  thus  had  not  only  the  election  of  a  United  States 
senator  to  succeed  Graham,  but  also  the  redistricting  of  the 
State  under  the  census  of  1840  for  Congress,  for  the  state 
Senate,  and  for  the  House  of  Commons. 

Democratic  sentiment  in  the  State  was  growing  very 
favorable  to  Calhoun  during  this  period  and  there  were 
many  of  the  party  leaders,  notable  amotag  whom  was  Saun- 
ders, who  were  frankly  advocates  of  his  nomination  for  the 
presidency  in  1844.  The  State  was  not  at  all  enthusiastic 
for  Van  Buren  although  there  were  many  of  his  friends  to  be 
found.  On  September  2,  a  great  dinner  in  Calhoun's  honor 
was  given  at  Shocco  Springs,  then  a  seat  of  fashion  and  noted 


Party  Politics  ijst  North  Carolina  85 

as  a  gathering  place  for  politicians.  John  Branch  presided 
and  made  one  of  the  speeches.  Calhoun  was  of  course  the 
chief  speaker.  Among  the  others  were  Saunders,  J.  R.  J. 
Daniel,  and  Charles  Shepard.  Letters  were  read  from 
Thomas  H.  Benton,  Levi  Woodbury,  William  R.  King,  James 
Buchanan,  Jacob  Thompson,  Silas  Wright,  Thomas  W.  Rit- 
chie, T.  W.  Gilmer,  and  many  others  of  less  note  in  the  Dem- 
aeracy. 

Before  the  legislature  convened,  the  tariff  of  1842  became 
&  law  and  went  into  effect.  By  this  bill  the  North  Carolina 
Whigs  were  placed  in  a  dilemma.  Mangum  by  this  time  was 
in  effect  a  high  tariff  man,  and  while  he  voted  against  the 
bill,  he  made  no  secret  that  had  his  vote  been  needed  to  pass 
it,  he  would  have  voted  affirmatively.  Graham  also  voted 
against  it  but  he  endorsed  it  in  1844  and  would  probably 
have  voted  for  it  if  necessary.  In  the  House  Stanly  tried 
to  avoid  voting  on  the  question  at  all  but  was  forced  to  do  so 
and  voted  for  it.  The  rest  of  the  Whigs  and  all  the  Demo- 
crats voted  against  it. 

The  legislature  met  at  the  customary  time.  Louis  D. 
Wilson  of  Edgecombe  was  chosen  speaker  of  the  Senate  over 
Andrew  Joyner,  and  Calvin  Graves  of  Caswell,  speaker  of 
the  House  over  D.  M.  Barringer  of  Cabarrus.  The  State 
watched  with  much  interest  to  see  what  attitude  the  Demo- 
crats would  take  in  relation  to  the  disposition  of  the  offices 
within  the  gift  of  the  legislature.  Many  Democrats  frankly 
favored  the  spoils  system  and  a  series  of  able  articles  entitled, 
"The  General  Assembly,"  which  appeared  in  the  Standard 
in  the  autumn,  had  advocated  a  clean  sweep  of  the  Whigs. 
When  the  legislature  met,  the  Democrats  to  some  extent  had 
abandoned  the  non-partisan  attitude  which  had  hitherto 
characterized  them.  Charles  Manly,  for  nineteen  years  clerk 
of  the  House,  was  turned  out  in  favor  of  Louis  H.  Marsteller 
who  had  shortly  before  been  ousted  by  the  Whigs  from  his 
position  of  collector  of  the  port  of  Wilmington.  John  H. 
Wheeler,  a  Democrat,  was  elected  treasurer,  defeating 
Charles  L.  Hinton,  the  Whig  incumbent,  two  Democratic 


86  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

solicitors  were  chosen  and  a  Democratic  attorney-general  to 
succeed  Hugh  McQueen  who  resigned,  and  seven  Democrats- 
were  elected  to  the  Council  of  State.  The  last  mentioned 
elections  in  particular  aroused  the  wrath  of  the  Whigs.  But 
the  Whig  secretary  of  state  was  unanimously  re-elected  and 
the  Whig  comptroller  was  re-elected. 

Governor  Morehead's  message  was  a  statesmanlike  utter- 
ance devoted  mainly  to  the  question  of  internal  improvements 
and  containing  a  large  number  of  specific  recommendations 
on  the  subject.  A  proposition  to  print  five  copies  for  each 
member  was  defeated  as  useless  extravagance  and  one  copy 
for  each  was  finally  ordered  to  be  printed. 

The  election  of  United  States  senator  at  first  occupied 
much  of  the  attention  and  thought  of  the  majority.  Bedford 
Brown,  desiring  endorsement  after  his  resignation,  was  of 
course  a  candidate,  and  R.  M.  Saunders,  on  the  strength  of  his 
campaign  against  Morehead  in  1840  and  the  feeling  against 
Brown  was  also  in  the  race.  Others  mentioned  were  Louis 
D.  Henry,  Charles  Shepard,  William  H.  Haywood,  Charles 
Fisher,  and  Robert  Strange.  The  contest  was  accompanied 
by  the  most  bitter  hostility  and  as  Moore  says,  "shameful  con- 
tention." Much  outside  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  in 
favor  of  Brown  which  probably  injured  as  much  as  it  helped 
his  cause.  Jackson,  Silas  Wright,  and  Thomas  H.  Benton 
all  wrote  letters  urging  his  selection.  The  caucus  met  and 
took  four  ballots  in  all  of  which  Brown  led,  but  Saunders  and 
his  friends  would  not  yield.  Brown  then  suggested  to  Saun- 
ders that  both  should  withdraw  in  the  interest  of  harmony, 
but  Saunders,  relying  on  gaining  some  Whig  votes,  refused 
to  consider  it.  The  Whigs,  anxious  to  split  the  Democratic 
party,  were  loudly  supporting  Saunders,  but  they  did  not 
carry  their  support  to  the  point  of  voting  in  a  body  for  him. 
Brown  behaved  very  well  in  the  whole  matter,  for  in  the  be- 
ginning he  had  instructed  his  supporters  to  withdraw  his 
name  in  the  event  that  Saunders  led  in  the  caucus.  The  polit- 
ical preferences  of  the  two  men  probably  had  some  influence 
in  the  contest.    Brown  was  a  strong  supporter  of  Van  Buren 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  87 

while  Saunders,  as  has  been  already  mentioned,  was  an  avow- 
ed supporter  of  Calhoun.  When  the  election  came,  a  dead- 
lock resulted.  After  the  first  five  ballots  none  were  taken 
for  some  days.  In  this  period  the  Standard  angered  many 
by  a  protest  against  the  sacrifice  of  the  interests  of  the  party 
for  those  of  a  faction.  The  Standard  was  supposed  by 
many  to  be  controlled  by  William  H.  Haywood  and  on  that 
account  many  Democrats  disliked  it.  Finally  on  the  ninth 
ballot,  the  Democrats  abandoned  both  Brown  and  Saunders 
who  had  been  withdrawn,  and  elected  Haywood.  Brown  and 
Saunders  were  very  bitter  against  each  other  and  the  breach 
in  the  party  did  not  heal  easily. 

The  legislature  with  its  Democratic  majority  was  not 
inclined  to  any  liberal  policy  of  internal  improvements.  The 
report  of  the  committee  on  the  subject  strongly  condemned  the 
methods  of  state  aid  already  adopted  and  declared  that  as 
the  State  was  in  no  financial  condition  to  assist  any  general 
scheme  of  internal  improvement,  the  time  and  money  spent 
on  investigations  and  surveys  was  sheer  waste.  The  bonds 
of  the  Wilmington  and  Kaleigh  Railroad,  which  the  State 
had  endorsed,  had  in  the  meantime  gone  to  protest  and  an  act 
was  passed  authorizing  the  Literary  Board  to  invest  $50,000 
in  redeeming  them,  and  at  the  same  time  a  complete  invest- 
gation  of  the  affairs  of  the  road  was  ordered.  The  Democrats 
doubtless  hated  to  spend  the  money  on  such  an  object,  but  the 
name  of  the  State  was  dear  to  all  and  repudiation  was  ab- 
horred. The  whole  matter  of  the  loans  made  from  the 
Literary  Fund  now  came  up.  The  publication  of  the  names 
of  the  borrowers  was  ordered  despite  the  protests  of  the 
Whigs.  The  reason  of  their  opposition  appeared  when  the 
report  showed  that  of  the  fifty-five  borrowers,  forty-seven 
were  Whigs  who  held  $97,469,  of  the  total  loans  of  $108,955. 
Much  Democratic  criticism  followed  which  was  keenly  re- 
sented by  the  Whigs.  How  far  politics  had  really  entered 
into  the  making  of  loans  cannot  be  discovered,  but  the  efforts 
of  the  Whigs  to  stifle  the  investigation  would  lead  to  the 


88  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

belief  that  there  was  at  least  an  element  of  truth  in  the  Demo- 
cratic charges. 

The  legislature  devoted  considerable  time  to  the  question 
of  the  banks  and  to  the  financial  situation  generally.  W.  B. 
Shepard  introduced  a  relief  bill  which  provided  for  the  loan 
to  the  people  of  the  counties  in  proportion  to  their  federal 
population  of  treasury  notes  to  the  amount  of  a  million  dol- 
lars. On  January  2,  1843,  the  stockholders  of  the  State  Bank 
offered  to  surrender  their  charter  and  it  soon  became  known 
that  if  the  relief  bill  passed  that  the  bank  would  wind  up  its 
affairs.  The  relief  bill  failed,  partly  because  of  this  pressure 
and  the  Standard  which  was  very  friendly  to  the  State  Bank 
at  once  charged  it  with  attempting  to  control  the  legislature. 

The  movement  for  a  penitentiary  was  much  stronger  at 
this  session  and  it  was  also  proposed  to  work  criminals  on  the 
public  roads.  There  was  need  of  some  reform  of  the  system 
of  punishment.  Twenty-five  crimes  were  punishable  by  death 
for  the  first  offense  and  five  more  for  the  second  offense.  In- 
numerable offenses  were  punished  with  the  pillory  or  whip- 
ping post  or  both.  The  State  was  awakening  to  the  fact  that 
whipping,  generally  speaking,  made  bad  citizens  and  much 
opposition  was  manifest. 

Catawba,  McDowell  and  Union  counties  were  established 
and  ten  academies,  two  manufacturing  companies  and  seven 
military  companies  were  incorporated.  The  State  was  re- 
districted,  the  number  of  congressional  districts  under  the 
new  appointment  falling  from  thirteen  to  nine.  The  Whigs 
of  course  opposed  the  districting,  charging  a  gerrymander. 
In  all  the  three  kinds  of  districts  there  was  doubtless  some 
gerrymandering,  but  so  has  there  always  been  in  North  Caro- 
lina, and  there  were  no  striking  instances  of  it. 

Probably  the  most  interesting  political  happening  of  the 
session  was  the  series  of  discussions  of  a  set  of  resolutions  in- 
troduced by  Cadwallader  Jones,  Jr.,  of  Orange.  They  de- 
clared the  right  of  the  legislature  to  instruct  United  States 
senators  and  the  duty  of  the  latter  to  obey  or  resign.  They 
further  declared  that  North  Carolina  would  never  consent 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  89 

to  an  imposition  of  taxes  for  a  particular  interest  or  occupa- 
tion and  condemned  the  tariff  of  1842  as  such  a  tax  and  also 
as  a  violation  of  the  compromise  of  1833.  The  bankrupt 
law  was  also  condemned.  The  refunding  of  the  fine  imposed 
upon  General  Jackson  by  Judge  Hall  in  1812  was  demanded 
and  the  senators  were  instructed  and  the  representatives 
were  requested  to  assist  in  carrying  the  resolutions  into  effect. 
The  Whigs  resisted  the  resolutions  at  every  step  by  offering 
very  skillfully  prepared  amendments  to  every  section,  all  of 
them  designed  to  embarrass  the  Democrats  and  by  demanding 
a  roll  call  on  every  possible  question.  The  Democrats  stood 
solidly  together  on  every  point,  voted  down  the  amendments, 
some  of  which  they  themselves  offered  later  independently  and 
passed  to  keep  their  record  clear,  and  carried  the  resolutions 
through  both  houses  without  any  substantial  change. 

On  May  31,  1843,  Loring  announced  his  retirement  as 
editor  of  the  Standard,  and  William  W.  Holden  wrote  his 
salutatory.  He  declared  himself  ever  to  have  been  "a  Demo- 
cratic Republican  of  the  school  of  '98  and  '99,"  and  stated 
that  he  was  now  a  Democrat  because  the  members  of  that 
party  "have  always  approved  themselves  the  friends  and 
supporters  of  equal  rights ;  because  they  have  ever  been,  and 
are  now,  the  advocates  of  the  many  against  the  few ;  because 
whilst  they  yield  to  the  Federal  Government  the  exercise  of 
its  acknowledged  and  undoubted  constitutional  power,  they 
at  the  same  time  guard  with  peculiar  vigilance  the  freedom, 
sovereignty,  and  independence  of  the  respective  States." 

William  Woods  Holden,  one  of  the  most  interesting  of 
the  figures  of  North  Carolina  history  and  destined  to  become 
one  of  the  most  dominant  in  the  politics  of  the  State,  was  born 
in  Orange  County  in  1818.  Trained  in  the  office  of  Dennis 
Heartt,  the  editor  of  the  Hillsboro  Recorder,  he  was  an  en- 
thusiastic Whig.  Going  to  Raleigh  in  1837,  he  studied  law 
and  obtained  his  license.  At  the  same  time  he  became  an 
associate  editor  of  the  Star  the  Whig  paper  edited  by  Lemay 
which  was  in  a  sense  representative  of  the  Republican  Whigs 
just  as  the  Register  was  the  organ  of  the  Federal  Whigs.    He 


90  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

displayed  unusual  ability  but  there  was  small  hope  of  bis 
being  able  to  become  the  editor  of  a  Whig  paper  and  be 
faced  the  prospect  of  giving  up  journalism,  to  which  his  ta- 
lents inclined  him,  or  of  remaining  in  a  subordinate  position. 
It  is  extremely  likely  that  he  was  beginning  to  feel  himself 
out  of  sympathy  with  the  dominant  forces  in  the  Whig  party 
as  they  inclined  more  and  more  towards  aristocratic  opinions. 
At  this  juncture  James  B.  Shepherd  offered  to  sell  him  the 
Standard  on  very  easy  terms  if  he  would  conduct  it  as  the 
organ  of  the  Democratic  party.  Holden  accepted  with  less 
than  ten  minutes  deliberation  and  threw  himself  into  the 
work  of  advancing  Democratic  principles  with  an  ability, 
and  an  enthusiasm  which  indicated  clearly  that  his  heart  was 
indeed  in  his  new  cause.  The  Whigs  sneered  at  him  publicly, 
cursed  and  reviled  him  in  private,  and  laid  up  a  store  of 
hatred  for  him  which  was  to  have  momentous  influence  in 
North  Carolina  during  the  next  three  decades.  The  Demo- 
crats accepted  him  not  only  cheerfully  and  heartily,  but  as  a 
gift  from  Heaven,  and  his  influence  grew  rapidly.  With  his 
assumption  of  control  the  Standard  gained  new  force  and 
strength  and  the  Democratic  party  entered  upon  a  new  era. 
Holden  was  a  tremendous  fighter  and  he  was  an  intuitive, 
adroit,  and  masterly  politician.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say 
that  under  his  leadership  and  through  it  the  Democrats  de- 
veloped an  organization  while  the  power  of  the  Whigs  steadily 
waned.  One  of  his  first  acts  and  one  which  showed  his  fore- 
sight was  the  removal  of  Van  Buren's  name  from  the  head  of 
the  Standard's  editorial  column  as  the  Democratic  candidate 
for  1844.  He  knew  intuitively  that  its  presence  might  be  of 
great  embarrassment  later. 

The  congressional  elections  attracted  the  usual  attention. 
The  results  showed  that  the  Democrats  had  elected  five, 
Archibald  H.  Arrington,  J.  B.  J.  Daniel,  James  J.  McKay, 
David  S.  Beid,  and  B.  M.  Saunders.  The  Whigs  elected 
four,  Thomas  L.  Clingman,  who  this  time  defeated  James 
Graham,  D.  M.  Barringer,  Edmund  Deberry,  and  Kenneth 
Bayner.     Stanly  was  defeated  by  Arrington  of  Nash.     It 


Paety  Politics  in  North  Carolina  91 

"was  during  this  campaign  that  Stanly  coined  a  phrase  which 
is  now  world-wide.  The  news  reached  him  that  ISTash  County, 
which  was  almost  solidly  Democratic,  would  not  allow  him 
to  speak  within  its  borders.  Stanly  had  not  intended  going 
to  the  county  at  all,  but  he  throve  on  opposition  of  this  kind 
and  at  once  announced  a  date  on  which  he  would  speak  in  the 
county.  On  the  appointed  day  he  faced  a  tremendous  crowd, 
practically  all  his  political  opponents,  and  began  his  speech. 
Reciting  the  facts  which  had  led  to  his  coming  he  closed  his 
explanation  as  follows :  "I  realize  that  I  am  facing  the  unter- 
rified  Democracy  of  Nash  County,  but  I  want  you  to  know 
and  to  bear  witness  that  I  face  you  unterrified."  "The  unter- 
rified  Democracy"  has  been  a  political  phrase  ever  since. 


CHAPTEE  VIII 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1844 

The  political  pot  of  1844  began  to  boil  in  North  Carolina 
by  September,  1843,  and  by  the  middle  of  October,  both  par- 
ties had  issued  calls  for  state  conventions  to  meet  in  De- 
cember. The  Democrats  were  particularly  active  and  con- 
fident, probably  because  of  their  success  in  1842  and  in  the 
congressional  elections  of  1843. 

The  Whig  convention  met  first,  assembling  in  Raleigh  on 
December  8.  It  was  an  enthusiastic  and  united  body  of  200 
delegates,  representing  52  counties,  and  was  the  largest  con- 
vention that  the  State  had  had  to  this  time.  S.  F.  Patterson 
was  temporary  chairman  and  George  E.  Spruill  was  presi- 
dent. Edward  Stanly  and  Charles  Manly  had  both  been  men- 
tioned for  the  nomination  for  governor,  and  Stanly  went  so 
far  as  to  write  declining  it.  There  was  no  need  for  his  anxi- 
ety on  the  subject.  William  A.  Graham  was  an  easy  favorite 
and  was  nominated  unanimously.  Clay  was  endorsed  and  the 
platform  declared  for  a  national  bank.  It  also  declared  for 
tariff  duties  as  opposed  to  direct  taxes  and  favored  incidental 
protection  from  the  duties.  Distribution  as  usual  was 
endorsed.  Morehead's  administration  was  highly  commend- 
ed. George  E.  Badger  and  Edward  B.  Dudley  were  chosen 
as  delegates  to  the  national  convention. 

William  Alexander  Graham  was  born  near  Vesuvius 
Purnace  in  Lincoln  County  in  1804.  Prepared  for  college 
in  Mecklenburg  County,  at  Pleasant  Retreat  Academy  in 
Lincolnton,  and  at  the  Hillsboro  Academy,  he  matriculated 
at  the  University  in  1820  and  graduated  in  1824  with  high 
honors  in  a  very  distinguished  class.  He  studied  law  under 
Judge  Ruffin  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1827.  His 
political  life  began  in  1833  when  he  was  elected  as  a  borough 
member  from  Hillsboro  to  the  House  of  Commons.  He  was 
re-elected  twice  in  succession  and  was  the  Whig  candidate  for 
speaker  at  the  last  session.    In  1836  he  was  a  member  of  the 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  93 

House  from  Orange  County  and  in  1837  was  the  Whig 
candidate  for  Congress  from  that  district  but  was  defeated 
by  Dr.  William  Montgomery.  The  next  year  he  returned 
to  the  House  and  was  elected  speaker  over  Michael  Hoke. 
In  1840  he  was  re-elected  both  to  the  House  and  the  speaker- 
ship, and,  as  will  be  remembered,  was  soon  after  elected  to 
the  United  States  Senate.  After  his  defeat  for  re-election  he 
had  again  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession. 

Graham's  letter  of  acceptance,  which  was  quite  an  elab- 
orate one,  was  devoted  almost  entirely  to  the  discussion  of 
national  finance.  He  expressed  regret  at  his  call  to  the 
office,  saying  that  it  broke  in  upon  his  agricultural  pursuits. 
Holden  took  this  phrase  as  the  text  for  a  very  clever  editorial 
in  which  he  said: 

When  and  where  did  the  delicate  lawyer-like  hands  of  Wil- 
liam A.  Graham  become  accustomed  to  the  handles  of  the 
plough  ?  Will  nobody  enlighten  us  ?  The  truth  is,  the  idea 
is  perfectly  ridiculous.  This  reluctant  "breaking  away" 
from  "agricultural  pursuits"  was  put  in  for  no  other  pur- 
pose than  that  of  conveying  to  the  minds  of  the  farmers  of 
the  State  the  impression  that  he  is  a  practical  farmer. 
We  believe  Mr.  Graham  does  live  in  the  center  of  a  10-acre 
patch.  This  extensive  farm  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the 
waters  of  the  Enoe — on  the  north  by  the  Oxford  road — on 
the  east  by  a  magnificent  branch  at  least  two  feet  wide — and 
on  the  west  by  the  ancient  village  of  Hillsboro,  and  over  all 
look  proudly  down  the  Ocanechee  Mountains.  We  shall 
therefore  call  him  the  Ocanechee  Farmer,  a  pretty  title  and 
romantic.  And  now  imagine  him  out  at  work.  Of  course 
his  coat  is  off,  his  sleeves  rolled  up,  and  his  whole  soul  set 
against  being  broken  off  from  his  "agricultural  pursuits."  He 
ploughs  along ;  and  ever  as  he  gets  to  the  turning  row  he  kicks 
the  mud  from  the  ploughshare  with  his  elegant  slipper,  and 
swears,  with  all  the  sternness  of  a  man  bent  on  making  corn 
that  he  will  farm  it.  Anon  he  denounces  the  late  Federal 
Convention  for  "breaking  in"  upon  his  "agricultural  pur- 
suits," casts  a  last  melancholy  look  at  his  beloved  grubbing 
hoe;  and  then  in  a  spirit  of  beautiful  desperation,  rushes  to 


94  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

his  office,  seizes  his  pen,  and  signs  the  letter  of  acceptance. 
The  deed  is  done.  Henceforth  his  corn  will  grow;  but  oh! 
agony !  he  will  not  see  it. 

The  Democratic  convention  assembled  just  a  week  after 
the  Whig  meeting.  It  was  not  so  large  a  body,  the  delegates 
numbering  only  141,  and  only  31  counties,  of  which  nine  were 
western,  being  represented.  Louis  D.  Henry  of  Edgecombe, 
presided  and  with  Charles  Fisher  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the 
national  convention.  Michael  Hoke  of  Lincoln,  who  was  an 
open  and  expressed  candidate  for  the  nomination  and  the 
first  in  the  history  of  the  State,  was  unanimously  nominated 
for  governor.  The  platform  which  was  rather  elaborate,  con- 
demned a  national  bank,  endorsed  a  tariff  for  revenue,  ex- 
pressing strong  opposition  to  protection  and  the  tariff  of 
1842.  It  also  condemned  direct  taxes.  It  expressed  approval 
of  the  veto  power  which  was  then  being  sharply  condemned 
by  the  Whigs  on  account  of  their  experience  with  Jackson 
and  more  particularly  with  Tyler,  favored  the  return  of 
Jackson's  fine,  and  approving  of  "properly  regulated  State 
banks  based  on  specie  capital,"  demanded  regulation  of  the 
North  Carolina  banks  by  the  legislature. 

The  Democratic  candidate  for  governor  was  like  G-raham 
a  native  of  Lincoln  County.  Born  in  1810,  he  was  six  years 
younger  than  his  opponent.  He  received  most  of  his  educa- 
tion at  Captain  Partridge's  famous  school  at  Middletown, 
Connecticut,  and  later  studied  law  under  Judge  Tucker  of 
Virginia,  and  Robert  H.  Burton  of  North  Carolina.  He  was 
deeply  interested  in  politics  and  had  been  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Commons  for  five  terms  from  1834  to  1842. 

The  chief  event  of  1844  in  the  minds  of  the  Whigs  was 
Clay's  visit  to  the  State.  He  had  been  previously  invited 
repeatedly,  but  had  never  been  in  the  State  until  April,  1844, 
when  he  visited  Raleigh  and  Wilmington  at  both  of  which 
places  he  spoke.  The  writer  recently  talked  with  a  North 
Carolinian  who  heard  him  in  Wilmington.  His  comment 
was  that  the  speech  was  very  fine,  but  that  it  was  "cast  in  the 
shade"  by  one  delivered  by  William  W.  Cherry  of  Bertie. 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  95 

At  both  places  immense  crowds  attended,  but  the  Raleigh 
meeting  was  naturally  the  larger  and  more  important.  From 
all  over  the  State  the  Whigs  poured  out  to  greet  their  idol. 
Men  travelled  hundreds  of  miles  in  wagons  and  on  horseback, 
camping  on  the  way  and  in  Raleigh  to  hear  and  see  the 
great  Whig  chieftain.  He  reached  Raleigh  in  the  evening 
and  was  met  outside  the  town  by  a  large  delegation  and 
carried  to  the  governor's  mansion.  That  night  there  was  a 
huge  demonstration  with  speeches  at  the  capitol  from  many 
local  and  visiting  Whigs,  including:  B.  W.  Leigh  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  "Parson"  Brownlow  of  Tennessee.  The  next  day 
Clay  was  welcomed  at  the  capitol  by  Badger  and  introduced 
by  Morehead,  after  which  he  delivered  a  long  address  which, 
while  he  said  it  was  not  intended  to  be  political,  was  of 
course  an  appeal  for  the  Whig  policies. 

Badger's  enthusiasm  for  Clay  at  this  time  provoked  the 
Standard  to  publish  the  following  sentiments  concerning  him, 
which  Badger,  as  a  member  of  the  Jackson  committee,  had 
written  in  1828 : 

You  have  seen  the  Secretary  of  State  challenging  to  mortal 
combat  a  member  of  Congress  for  daring  in  his  place  on  the 
floor  of  the  Senate  to  examine  with  freedom  and  expose  with 
boldness  the  conduct  of  the  Secretary.  You  have  seen  the 
same  officer,  forgetful  of  what  belongs  to  his  high  station, 
assume  the  character  of  a  traveling  speechmaker  and  har- 
angue public  gatherings  in  Kentucky,  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia,  boasting  of  his  intrepidity  and  his  virtue,  and  dis- 
charging his  malignity  towards  Jackson,  sometimes  in  gross 
abuse,  and  sometimes  in  impious  appeals  to  heaven. 

By  this  time  the  question  of  the  annexation  of  Texas  was 
the  dominant  issue  in  the  minds  of  every  one.  All  the  pos- 
sible candidates  for  presidential  nomination  had  been  asked 
to  define  their  views  and  Van  Buren  had  at  once  given  his 
which  were  unequivocal  in  their  opposition  to  annexation. 
Clay  had  hitherto  refrained  from  expressing  his  own  views 
but  as  Van  Buren  seemed  certain  of  the  Democratic  nomina- 
tion, it  appeared  to  Clay  that  here  was  his  opportunity  to 


96  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

dismiss  the  Texas  question  from  the  presidential  campaign 
and  thus  be  able  to  fight  the  Democrats  on  his  chosen  issues 
of  the  bank  and  the  tariff  without  the  public  attention  being 
diverted.  Therefore,  while  he  was  in  Raleigh,  after  consulta- 
tion with  Badger,  Stanly,  and  Morehead,  he  wrote  his  famous 
"Raleigh  letter"  in  which  he  expressed  in  no  uncertain  terms 
his  opposition  to  such  expansion.  Sentiment  in  the  State  was 
divided,  but,  generally  speaking,  the  Whigs  opposed  and  the 
Democrats  favored  annexation.  When  the  treaty  finally 
came  before  the  Senate,  Mangum  voted  against  it  and  Hay- 
wood for  it. 

Clay  was  duly  nominated  by  the  Whig  convention  which 
met  in  Baltimore  on  May  1.  North  Carolina  had  a  full  dele- 
gation present  but  took  no  especially  prominent  part  in  the 
deliberations.  Richard  H.  Hines  was  one  of  the  vice-presi- 
dents. 

In  the  Democratic  convention  which  also  met  in  Balti- 
more in  the  same  month,  quite  the  reverse  was  true.  Romu- 
lus M.  Saunders  was  easily  the  most  prominent  figure  in  the 
body.  He  called  the  convention  to  order  and,  as  soon  as  it 
was  organized,  moved  to  adopt  the  two-thirds  rule  which  de- 
feated Van  Buren,  to  secure  whose  nomination  for  vice-presi- 
dent in  1832,  it  had  first  been  devised.  The  North  Carolina 
delegation  had  no  particular  candidate.  Henry  was  for  Van 
Buren  and  Fisher  was  for  Calhoun.  Saunders  was  also  for 
Calhoun  but  did  not  think  that  he  could  be  nominated.  The 
delegation  was  not  even  a  unit  on  the  question  of  the  two- 
thirds  rule,  dividing  evenly  on  it.  The  vote  of  the  State  on 
the  various  ballots  is  interesting. 

First  Ballot — Van  Buren  2;  Cass  4;  Johnson  5. 

Second  Ballot — Cass  5  ;  Johnson  5. 

Third  Ballot — Johnson  11. 

Fourth  Ballot — Cass  11. 

Fifth  Ballot — Cass  7;  Johnson  4. 

Sixth  Ballot — Cass  7;  Johnson  4. 

Seventh  Ballot — Van  Buren  2 ;  Cass  7 ;  Johnson  2. 

Eighth  Ballot — Van  Buren  2 ;  Cass  8 ;  Calhoun  1. 

Ninth  Ballot— Polk  11. 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  97 

Polk's  nomination  was  welcomed  by  North  Carolina  Dem- 
ocrats for  he  was  popular  in  the  State  and  they  felt  much 
pride  in  his  North  Carolina  birth  and  the  fact  of  his  having 
been  educated  at  the  University.  The  Whigs  at  once  said 
that  he  was  a  small  man  whose  unfitness  for  the  presidency 
was  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he  was  not  voted  for  in  the 
early  ballots  of  the  convention  and  that  the  ability  of  the 
convention  to  unite  on  him  after  the  long  contest  showed  that 
he  was  a  weak  man.  They  also  argued  with  much  length 
and  gravity  that  his  grandfather  had  been  a  Tory  in  the 
Revolution.  The  Democrats  retorted  that  he  was  a  signer 
of  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the 
Whigs  argued  that  any  copy  of  that  sacred  document  which 
bore  the  name  of  Ezekiel  Polk  was  of  necessity  a  forgery. 
This  characteristic  argument  lasted  during  the  entire  cam- 
paign. 

The  state  campaign  got  under  way  early.  Plans  were 
made  for  a  joint  canvass,  but  Graham  was  taken  desperately 
ill  and  for  a  time  his  life  was  despaired  of.  After  his  re- 
covery he  entered  upon  the  campaign  and  at  several  places 
he  and  Hoke  met.  The  chief  subject  of  debate  was  annex- 
ation which  Hoke  defended  and  Graham  opposed.  Graham 
paid  comparatively  little  attention  to  the  East,  but  canvassed 
the  West  rather  thoroughly.  His  attention  to  the  West  caused 
the  Democrats  to  revive  to  some  extent  the  talk  of  sectional 
division. 

The  campaign  was  very  spirited  throughout.  Graham 
was  somewhat  stiff  and  formal  and  never  under  any  circum- 
stances lost  his  dignity.  He  was  the  most  cultured  of  all 
the  governors  of  North  Carolina,  and  was  a  man  of  majestic 
presence  who  always  attracted  attention.  Mr.  Nash  says  of 
him:  "He  was  at  this  time  the  handsomest  man  in  public 
life  in  North  Carolina.  The  tones  of  his  voice  were  mellow 
and  harmonious,  and,  though  not  strong,  well  modulated. 
His  action  was  free,  easy  and  graceful,  on  occasion  warming 
into  energy.  His  matter  was  carefully  arranged  so  as  to 
give  his  argument  the  effect  of  cumulation.    He  was  fair  and 


98  James  Speunt  Historical  Publications 

stately,  and  perfectly  honest  and  sincere  in  the  position  he 
took.  His  public  addresses,  though  always  orderly  arranged, 
are  never  closely  reasoned.  He  knew  the  danger  of  a  logical 
short  cut  in  dealing  with  public  questions.  Its  beauty  and 
force  could  be  appreciated  only  by  the  initiated,  and  such 
were  not  his  fellow  citizens  whom  he  was  addressing.  He 
very  seldom  dealt  in  sophistry.  Indeed  so  practical  a  mind 
as  his  could  rarely  do  so.  In  short  the  matter  of  his  public 
speeches  was  interesting  and  instructive,  while  his  manner 
was  always  attractive."  Hoke  was  a  man  of  great  charm  and 
enthusiasm  of  manner.  Magnetic,  a  good  popular  orator  and 
debater,  and  generally  liked,  he  made  a  formidable  opponent. 
His  character  was  above  reproach  in  every  relation  of  life  and 
his  ability  far  above  the  average.  In  sharp  contrast  to  Gra- 
ham, he  was  possessed  of  much  humor  and  readiness  of  wit. 
The  two  in  joint  debate  furnished  an  interesting  contrast. 
Quoting  Mr.  Nash  again:  "Graham,  more  learned,  more 
experienced,  calmer,  more  dignified  and  impressive;  Hoke 
more  nimble,  quicker,  brighter  and  more  entertaining." 

The  campaign  was  devoid  of  any  special  interest.  There 
was,  however,  a  good  deal  of  journalistic  activity.  In  June 
Loring  finally  took  the  plunge  he  had  apparently  been  medi- 
tating for  some  time  and  announced  his  support  of  the  Whigs. 
The  Standard  was  intensely  active  in  the  campaign  and  its 
strength  alarmed  the  Whigs  who  never  lost  an  opportunity  of 
denouncing  it  and  its  editor.  The  Fayetteville  Observer, 
whose  editor  was  particularly  hostile  to  Holden  on  account 
of  his  apostacy,  said  editorially  during  the  campaign :  "Of 
all  the  vile,  unscrupulous  blackguard  sheets  published  in  the 
United  States,  we  doubt  if  there  be  one  that  will  compare 
in  these  particulars  with  the  Raleigh  Standard,  acting  noto- 
riously upon  the  principle  of  never  retracting  one  of  its  thou- 
sand of  falsehoods  and  never  abandoning  one,  however  often 
refuted,  it  is  perfectly  callous  to  public  opinion  and  occupies 
itself  wholly  in  devising  and  collecting  foul  slanders  which 
it  dins  into  the  public  ear,  until  some  of  its  readers,  we  have 
reason  to  think,  actually  believe  those  fables  to  whose  utter 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  99 

falsehood  not  even  constant  reiteration  can  close  the  eyes  of 
their  hired  originator  and  propagator." 

In  July  the  Whigs  held  their  great  western  meeting  at 
Statesville.  Graham,  D.  M.  Barringer,  H.  C.  Jones,  and 
Waddy  Thompson  of  South  Carolina,  were  the  speakers. 
The  assembled  crowds  were  also  entertained  by  a  great  barbe- 
cue. 

The  election  resulted  in  a  Whig  victory,  Graham's  ma- 
jority being  3,153  in  a  total  vote  of  82,019.  The  legislature 
was  Whig  in  both  houses,  but  by  a  majority  of  only  two  in 
the  Senate.  In  September  Hoke  died  of  malaria  contracted 
in  his  canvass  of  the  East  and  a  very  promising  career  was 
thus  cut  short. 

The  presidential  campaign  was  conducted  with  much 
enthusiasm  for  the  rest  of  the  time,  the  central  committees 
of  both  parties  issuing  various  addresses  to  the  people  and 
as  far  as  possible  perfecting  their  local  organization.  The 
Democrats  were  entirely  hopeful  of  the  results  in  the  Nation, 
but  they  had  small  hope  for  carrying  the  State,  it  being  still 
very  clearly  manifest  that  the  Whigs  could  maintain  their 
control.  The  returns  of  the  election  showed  a  majority  for 
Clay  of  3,390  in  a  total  of  62,488.  The  vote  in  the  presi- 
dential election  was  smaller  than  that  in  the  state  election  by 
nearly  twenty  thousand  and  each  party  lost  practically  the 
same  number.  The  only  explanation  seems  to  be  that  the 
people  at  last  were  taking  a  greater  interest  in  state  than  in 
national  elections. 

When  the  legislature  met  four  members  of  the  Senate 
had  died  and  the  new  elections  had  caused  a  tie.  The  elec- 
tion of  a  speaker  came  when  the  Democrats,  on  account  of  an 
absent  Whig,  had  a  majority  of  one.  A  deadlock  followed 
since  the  Democratic  candidate,  Louis  D.  Wilson,  would  not 
vote  for  himself.  Later  the  Democrats  sought  to  elect 
Thomas  1ST.  Cameron  or  Weldon  "N.  Edwards.  The  Whigs, 
who  supported  in  turn  Joyner,  Dockery,  and  Francis,  finally 
proposed  to  the  Democrats  to  throw  dice  for  the  speaker. 
The  offer  was  contemptuously  refused.    They  then  offered  to 


100  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

allow  the  Democrats  to  elect  the  speaker  if  they  themselves 
should  be  allowed  to  name  all  the  clerks  and  doorkeepers 
and  upon  the  refusal  of  the  Democrats  to  consider  this  offer, 
they  expressed  their  readiness  to  surrender  all  the  lesser  po- 
sitions for  the  speakership.  The  Democrats,  finally  de- 
spairing of  ever  electing  one  of  their  party,  concentrated 
on  Burgess  S.  Gaither  of  Burke,  a  moderate  Whig,  and 
elected  him.  In  the  House  Edward  Stanly  was  elected 
speaker  over  Calvin  Graves. 

The  session  of  the  legislature  so  far  as  work  accomplished 
was  not  of  more  than  average  interest  and  importance.  The 
Whigs  were  very  bitter  over  the  election  of  Gaither  and  when 
they  found  a  little  later  that  Ennet  of  Onslow,  had  pre- 
sented a  forged  certificate  of  election  which  he,  however, 
at  the  time  believed  to  be  genuine,  and  although  he  had  later 
received  and  presented  the  correct  one,  they  expelled  him. 
He  was  triumphantly  re-elected  immediately.  The  Texas 
question  was  in  the  minds  of  everyone  and  the  House  of 
Commons  finally  passed,  by  a  majority  of  eleven,  resolu- 
tions condemning  annexation,  but  they  did  not  represent  the 
sentiment  of  the  State.  The  Whigs  had  opposed  annexation 
because  the  Democrats  wanted  it  and  because  Clay  opposed 
it.  Upon  reflection  and  after  Clay's  "Alabama  letter"  many 
of  them  were  now  frank  expansionists. 

Among  the  more  important  legislation  were  acts  giving 
authority  for  the  foreclosure  of  the  mortgage  which  the  State 
held  upon  the  Raleigh  and  Gaston  Railroad  and  instructing 
the  governor  to  bid  as  high  as  three  hundred  thousand  dollars 
for  it;  providing  for  the  submission  of  the  question  of  a 
penitentiary  to  the  people  at  the  next  election;  authorizing 
the  Wilmington  and  Raleigh  Railroad  to  issue  $100,000  in 
bonds  to  be  endorsed  by  the  State  to  redeem  similar  bonds 
which  had  become  due ;  making  provision  for  the  education  of 
poor  deaf  mutes  and  blind  persons;  and  providing  for  the 
preservation  of  certain  historical  records  of  the  State.  As 
evidence  of  the  growth  of  humanitarian  sentiment,  two  laws 
may  be  mentioned  which  were  designed  to  prevent  impris- 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  101 

onment  for  debt  except  in  case  of  fraud  and  to  set  aside  an 
exemption  from  execution  of  tools  for  one  laborer,  one  bed, 
bedstead  and  covering  for  every  two  members  of  the  family, 
two  months  provisions  for  the  family,  four  hogs,  and  all 
necessary  household  and  kitchen  furniture  up  to  the  amount 
of  fifty  dollars. 

Some  interest  was  excited  by  the  election  of  officers. 
John  H.  Wheeler  was  ousted  from  the  treasurership  in  favor 
of  Charles  L.  Hinton.  Wheeler  and  Governor  Morehead 
liad  disputed  on  the  question  of  the  right  of  the  governor  to 
receive  compensation  as  a  member  of  the  Internal  Improve- 
ment Board,  both  Dudley  and  Morehead  having  drawn  per 
diem  as  members.  The  Whigs  now  retaliated  by  attempting 
to  cast  discredit  on  Wheeler,  making  insinuations  as  to  the 
entire  honesty  of  his  administration  of  the  treasurer's  ofiice, 
but  they  were  unable  to  make  a  case.  Judge  Gaston  had 
died  since  the  last  legislature,  and  Governor  Morehead  had 
nominated  Badger  to  his  Democratic  Council  of  State  to  fill 
the  vacancy.  The  council  refused  to  accept  him,  and  Fred- 
erick Nash  was  finally  selected,  and  the  legislature  confirmed 
the  election.  David  F.  Caldwell  took  his  place  on  the  Su- 
perior bench. 

Graham  in  his  inaugural,  which  was  a  splendid  address 
of  lofty  patriotism  and  high  tone,  condemned  the  habit  of  the 
people  of  North  Carolina  of  devoting  so  much  of  their  time, 
attention,  and  interest  to  the  discussion  of  national  affairs, 
and  made  a  strong  plea  for  internal  improvements  and  edu- 
cation. 

When  Congress  assembled  in  December,  1844,  for  the 
short  session,  the  immediate  annexation  of  Texas  was  determ- 
ined upon.  William  H.  Haywood  introduced  a  bill  for  the 
purpose,  which  erected  a  slave  State  out  of  part  of  the  Re- 
public and  annexed  the  rest  to  Nebraska  as  non-slaveholding 
white  territory.  In  defending  it  he  endorsed  the  view  that 
Congress  could  legislate  on  the  subject  of  slavery  in  a  terri- 
tory with  entire  propriety  and  constitutionality.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  no  one  in  North  Carolina  at  this  time  would  have 


102  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

taken  any  other  position.  Haywood's  bill  made  no  progress 
in  the  Senate,  and  he  was  really  the  author  and  chief  pro- 
moter of  the  bills  known  as  Benton's  bills,  one  of  which  final- 
ly passed  as  the  joint  resolution  by  which  annexation  was  ac- 
complished. Mangum  voted  against  it.  In  the  House  all  the 
ISTorth  Carolina  Democrats  voted  for  it  and  all  the  Whigs 
against  it.  Rayner  complained  that  he  was  in  favor  of  an- 
nexation as  were  many  of  the  other  Southern  Whigs,  but 
that  they  were  opposed  to  the  particular  method  employed 
and  that  the  Democrats  would  not  give  them  a  chance  to  ex- 
plain their  position. 

The  congressional  elections  of  1845  were  notable  for  the 
fact  that  both  parties  held  nominating  conventions  in  prac- 
tically every  district.  The  canvass  was  prosecuted  with  great 
vigor,  the  tariff  and  Texas  being  the  chief  subjects  of  discus- 
sion. In  the  first  district,  the  Democrats  made  no  nomina- 
tion, and  Clingman,  having  won  the  Whig  nomination,  seem- 
ed to  have  things  all  his  own  way.  He  had  made  a  good  many 
enemies  in  his  own  party  and  his  voting  at  the  previous 
session  for  the  repeal  of  the  rule  against  the  reception  of 
abolition  petitions  had  not  increased  his  popularity.  So 
during  the  last  few  weeks  of  the  campaign,  James  Graham, 
who  had  contested  with  him  for  the  nomination,  offered 
himself  as  an  independent  Whig  and,  receiving  the  solid 
Democratic  vote  and  dividing  the  Whig  vote,  was  elected. 
In  the  second  district,  D.  M.  Barringer  was  re-elected  over 
Charles  Fisher.  In  the  fourth,  Jonathan  Worth  defeated 
Alfred  Dockery  in  the  Whig  convention,  but  the  latter  bolted, 
and  was  elected.  The  Democrats  had  no  candidate.  These 
three  were  the  only  districts  which  the  Whigs  carried.  The 
Democrats  won  six,  thus  gaining  one.  David  S.  Reid  was 
successful  over  A.  B.  McMillan  in  the  third.  J.  C.  Dobbin, 
defeating  J.  H.  Haughton,  succeeded  R.  M.  Saunders  in  the 
fifth.  Saunders  declined  to  run  and  was  at  this  time  bitterly 
disappointed  at  his  failure  to  secure  a  cabinet  position  which 
he  and  almost  every  one  else  had  expected  him  to  obtain. 
A  little  later  he  was  appointed  minister  to  Spain.     James, 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  103 

J.  McKay  was  re-elected  in  the  sixth,  defeating  Thomas  D. 
Meares.  J.  R.  J.  Daniel  defeated  R.  S.  Bond  in  the  sev- 
enth. Henry  S.  Clark  was  successful  over  R.  S.  Donnell  in 
the  eighth.  Asa  Biggs  won  in  the  ninth,  defeating  David 
Outlaw  who  had  entered  the  campaign,  taking  the  place  of 
the  brilliant  W.  W.  Cherry,  who  died  after  receiving  the 
nomination. 

The  warfare  between  the  Fayetteville  Observer  and  the 
Standard  continued  and  the  former  in  its  venom  exceeded 
the  bounds  of  decency.  In  May  it  contained  the  following 
editorial  notice: 

People  talk  about  a  Mr.  W.  W.  Holden  in  a  very  ugly 
manner  hereabouts.  There  are  naughty  folks  that  even  accuse 
him  of  this  very  crime  of  treason — treason  to  his  friends, 
his  benefactors,  his  party.  They  charge  him  with  having 
bartered  his  conscience  for  filthy  lucre;  of  suddenly  crossing 
over  to  the  enemy  in  the  broad  day-light,  and  belying  his 
whole  past  life. 

Even  good  Democrats  in  this  vicinage  quietly  admit  these 
charges,  and  we  must  frankly  tell  our  august  accuser  and 
judge,  that  no  man  of  any  party  here  regards  or  respects 
him.  Those  he  acts  with  constantly  fear  him — they  know  not 
how  soon  in  the  very  thickest  of  the  fight  he  might  turn  his 
weapons ;  while  the  uncharitable  Whigs  loathe  him,  as  being 
diseased  with  a  vile  leprosy  that  has  not  left  a  single  virtue 
unconsumed  amid  his  thousand  meannesses  and  vices. 

Holden  in  a  dignified  reply  said: 

No  notice  can  be  taken  of  Mr.  Hale  according  to  the 
usages  of  gentlemen,  for  he  has  long  since  proclaimed  himself 
by  his  own  pen,  as  well  as  by  his  own  deeds,  without  the  pale 
of  honor.  .  .  So  we  shall  strike  the  Observer  from  our 
exchange  list,  and,  in  so  doing,  call  upon  the  press  of  the 
State  to  sustain  us  in  an  effort  to  promote  the  just  courtesies 
and  proprieties  of  life. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1846 

The  Democratic  central  committee  in  October,  1845, 
announced  that  January  8,  1846,  the  anniversary  of  Jack- 
son's victory  at  ISTew  Orleans,  would  be  fittingly  celebrated 
by  the  meeting  of  the  Democratic  convention  in  Raleigh. 
The  Whig  convention  was  soon  after  summoned  to  meet  on 
January  12. 

County  meetings  of  both  parties  were  held,  the  Whigs, 
however,  failing  to  display  the  same  activity  as  their  oppo- 
nents because  it  was  already  a  settled  fact  that  Graham  would 
be  renominated.  The  Democratic  meetings  for  the  most 
part  contented  themselves  with  pledging  support  to  the  nomi- 
nee of  the  convention,  but  some  went  further  and  endorsed 
particular  candidates.  Calvin  Graves,  W.  W.  Avery,  Charles 
Fisher,  Weldon  ~N.  Edwards,  James  J.  McKay,  D.  W. 
Courts,  W.  F.  Leak,  and  Asa  Biggs  were  among  those  thus 
mentioned.  Party  sentiment  seems  to  have  been  fairly 
closely  fixed  upon  Charles  Fisher,  but  he  declined  a  few  days 
before  the  convention  met  to  allow  the  use  of  his  name. 

The  convention  met  on  the  appointed  day.  Thirty-five 
counties  were  represented  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  delegates. 
George  Bower  of  Ashe  County,  who  in  spite  of  advanced 
age,  had  ridden  over  one  hundred  miles  on  horseback  through 
the  most  inclement  weather  to  be  present  at  the  convention, 
was  temporary  chairman,  and  Louis  D.  Henry  was  president. 
The  nomination  of  a  candidate  for  governor  was  made  by 
ballot  of  the  counties,  the  first  time  such  a  plan  was  tried 
in  the  State.  Only  sixty-seven  delegates  voted  in  this  and  all 
of  them  cast  their  ballots  for  Green  W.  Caldwell  of  Mecklen- 
burg. The  platform  denounced  a  national  bank,  declared  for 
a  low  tariff,  and  endorsed  the  administration  on  all  other  mat- 
ters as  well.  The  Democratic  state  committee  was  created 
to  take  the  place  of  the  central  committee.  Speeches  were 
made  by  Louis  D.  Henry,  R.  M.  Saunders,  Burton  Craige, 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  105 

Abraham  W.  Venable,  Robert  Strange,  John  W.  Ellis, 
Thomas  Bragg,  James  S.  Smith,  R.  P.  Dick,  John  H. 
Wheeler,  John  F.  Hoke,  J.  L.  Clemmons  and  a  number  of 
others. 

The  Whig  convention  assembled  on  January  12.  Dr. 
F.  J.  Hill  was  the  presiding  officer  throughout.  Forty  coun- 
ties sent  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  forty-one  delegates.  Gra- 
ham was  unanimously  renominated  and  appeared  and  ad- 
dressed the  convention.  The  platform  declared  for  a  revenue 
tariff  with  incidental  protection,  favored  distribution,  and 
demanded  Oregon  without  war.  It  declared  the  bitter  op- 
position of  the  party  to  the  sub-treasury.  Speeches  were 
made  by  Badger,  Henry  W.  Miller,  John  Kerr,  and  Edward 
Stanly. 

On  January  20,  Caldwell,  on  account  of  ill  health  and 
other  personal  reasons,  not  least  of  which  probably  was  his 
disinclination  to  make  the  contest  against  Graham,  declined 
the  Democratic  nomination.  For  some  time  it  was  seriously 
questionable  if  any  other  nomination  would  be  made.  Walter 
F.  Leak  of  Richmond  County,  was  then  nominated  by  county 
meetings  and  newspapers  in  Lincoln,  Catawba,  Mecklen- 
burg, Union,  Montgomery,  and  Anson,  and  declared  himself 
a  candidate  before  the  people.  On  March  17,  the  Democratic 
state  committee,  or  such  members  as  could  be  gotten  together 
in  Raleigh,  ignoring  Leak,  nominated  James  B.  Shepard  of 
Wake,  who  had  declined  to  be  a  candidate  before  the  conven- 
tion. Leak  at  once  announced  his  intention  of  remaining  in 
the  field  because  of  his  being  so  deeply  committed  and  be- 
cause much  of  his  support  was  still  behind  him.  Another 
ground  for  his  action  was  the  expressed  belief  that  the  con- 
duct of  Democratic  affairs  was  in  the  hands  of  a  clique  of 
Raleigh  politicians.  The  term  "Raleigh  politicians,"  in 
those  days,  carried  much  the  same  signification  to  the  rest  of 
the  State  that  "'New  York  politician"  does  today.  Holden 
was  the  particular  person  against  whom  the  charge  was  di- 
rected, and  he  was  undoubtedly  responsible  for  Shepard' s 
nomination. 


106  James  Sprttnt  Historical  Publications 

Shepard,  immediately  after  his  acceptance,  entered  upon 
an  active  campaign,  going  to  the  East  at  once  and  reserving 
the  West  for  his  last  work.  He  had  most  of  the  party  behind 
him,  but  enough  strength  remained  with  Leak  to  make  suc- 
cess impossible  for  either.  Much  influence  was  brought  to 
bear  upon  Leak  to  induce  him  to  withdraw  but  apparently 
without  effect.  But  on  April  18  he  wrote  to  Shepard  sug- 
gesting the  reference  of  their  claims  to  a  full  meeting  of  the 
state  committee,  and  that  in  the  meantime  both  should  re- 
tire from  the  canvass.  Shepard  agreed  at  once  to  the  first 
suggestion,  declined  to  consider  the  second,  and  a  meeting  of 
the  committee  was  at  once  called.  On  May  18,  the  committee 
decided  in  favor  of  Shepard,  and  Leak  withdrew. 

James  Biddle  Shepard  was  a  native  of  Craven  County; 
a  member  of  a  distinguished  family,  and  a  man  of  great 
wealth.  He  was  educated  at  the  University  where  he  gradu- 
ated in  1834  at  the  head  of  his  class.  He  studied  law  in 
Philadelphia,  covering  the  entire  course  in  a  few  months,  and 
was  at  once  admitted  to  the  bar.  His  talents  were  great,  but 
he  was  indolent  and  having  no  need  to  obtain  practice  he  paid 
little  attention  to  his  profession.  He  was  appointed  United 
States  district  attorney  in  1840  by  Van  Buren  to  succeed 
William  H.  Haywood,  but  he  resigned  after  a  few  months. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Senate  from  Wake  in  1842  and  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  1844.  At  both  sessions 
he  displayed  great  activity  and  talent.  He  had  much  reputa- 
tion as  a  speaker  and  was  much  in  demand.  He  was  the 
author  of  an  epic  entitled  "North  Carolina,"  which  was 
greatly  praised  by  his  friends  at  the  time  of  its  publication, 
but  which  is  deservedly  unknown  today. 

The  campaign,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  press  of  the 
day,  was  devoid  of  any  great  interest.  Shepard  was  a  good 
campaigner,  for  he  was  a  good  "mixer"  and  his  ability  as  a 
speaker  won  him  attention  wherever  he  appeared.  Also  he 
was  deeply  interested  in  if  not  hopeful  of  success.  He  cov- 
ered the  State  very  thoroughly  and  met  Governor  Graham 
a  number  of  times  in  joint  debate  in  which,  if  he  did  not 


Pakty  Politics  in  North  Carolina  107 

cover  himself  with  glory,  he  at  least  held  his  own  fairly  well. 
Graham,  however,  had  grown  greatly  in  the  affection  and 
esteem  of  the  people,  and  Democratic  factional  disputes  had 
had  their  effect.  In  the  midst  of  the  campaign  two  things 
happened  which  had  a  disastrous  effect  upon  the  Democratic 
cause.  The  first  was  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Mexico. 
The  Whigs  immediately  took  the  stand  that  the  war  was 
unjustifiable  and  that  it  was  brought  on  entirely  by  President 
Polk.  They  did  not  dare,  however,  to  advocate  what  many  of 
them  would  have  preferred,  namely,  a  policy  of  non-support 
of  the  war,  bitterly  as  they  attacked  it.  But  they  did  little 
to  help  the  cause.  Ten  companies  of  volunteers  were  asked 
for  and  by  July,  1846,  forty  companies  had  answered  the 
call.  But  Democrats  were  the  moving  spirits  behind  all  the 
war  preparations.  A  large  majority  of  Whigs  were  opposed, 
and  they  made  their  opposition  count  in  the  campaign.  It 
must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  the  war  brought  Whig 
victory;  that  was  already  fated,  but  it  did  increase  the  party 
majority. 

The  other  happening  was  the  sudden  resignation  of  Wil- 
liam H.  Haywood  from  the  United  States  Senate.  Haywood 
was  not  the  sort  of  man  to  be  bound  very  closely  by  any 
party.  He  was  a  Democrat  but  an  entirely  independent  one. 
When  he  accepted  the  election  to  the  Senate,  he  excited  much 
surprise  by  writing  a  letter  to  the  legislature  in  which  he 
declared  that  he  demanded  the  right  of  a  certain  independ- 
ence in  his  political  action.  The  occasion  of  his  resignation 
was  the  tariff  bill  of  1846,  drafted  largely  by  James  J. 
McKay,  who  was  now  chairman  of  the  committee  on  ways 
and  means,  but  commonly  known  as  the  Walker  tariff  be- 
cause of  the  part  Robert  J.  Walker,  the  secretary  of  the  treas- 
ury, had  in  making  it.  When  the  bill  was  before  the  House, 
all  the  North  Carolina  Democrats  voted  for  it.  Haywood 
had  favored  the  McKay  tariff  bill  of  1844  which  had  pro- 
vided for  a  somewhat  higher  scale  of  duties  than  the  bill  of 
1846 ;  but  he  had  been  steadily  coming  to  believe  in  protec- 
tion, and  he  now  opposed  the  Walker  tariff  because  its  duties 


108  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

were  too  low  to  have  any  perceptible  protective  influence. 
Haywood  had  been  a  close  friend  of  President  Polk  at  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  and  the  intimacy  continued  in 
Washington.  It  was  assumed  that  Haywood  desired  to  be 
the  President's  spokesman  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate  and  for 
a  time  he  was  so  regarded  by  some.  But  Polk  was  a  strict 
party  man,  and  it  was  impossible  for  two  such  men  to  remain 
in  substantial  agreement.  It  became  known  that  Haywood 
was  opposed  to  the  bill,  and  Polk  used  every  possible  argu- 
ment to  induce  him  to  vote  for  it  and  not  to  resign.  His 
diary  records  very  interestingly  their  interviews  on  the  sub- 
ject. Haywood,  however,  was  obdurate  and  accordingly  re- 
signed in  preference  to  voting  for  the  bill.  This  made  the 
passage  of  the  bill  very  doubtful,  but  it  finally  got  through 
by  one  vote.  Haywood's  action  was  in  strict  accordance  with 
the  Democratic  doctrine  of  senatorial  responsibility,  but  few 
Democrats  were  able  then  or  thereafter  to  see  it,  and  he  was 
bitterly  denounced  by  Democratic  press  and  Democratic 
speakers,  in  and  out  of  the  State,  as  a  traitor,  apostate,  and 
renegade.  His  resignation  hurt  the  Democratic  party  in 
the  campaign. 

Haywood  was  not  without  defenders.  Thomas  H.  Ben- 
ton in  a  speech  in  the  Senate  commended  highly  his  purity 
of  character  and  motive.    Polk  himself  in  his  diary  says : 

After  the  Cabinet  adjourned,  and  about  3  :30  o'clock,  I  was 
astonished  to  learn  that  Senator  Haywood  had  today  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  the  Vice  President  resigning  his  seat  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States.  It  was  a  great  error,  and  I  am 
sure  that  he  will  greatly  regret  it.  The  fate  of  the  tariff  bill 
will  now  depend  on  the  vote  of  Senator  Jarnegan.  If  he 
votes  as  he  declared  he  would  today,  the  bill  will  still  pass. 
I  sincerely  regret  Mr.  Haywood's  course.  I  was  at  college 
with  him  and  have  ever  been  his  friend.  I  believe  him  to  be 
an  honest  and  pure  man,  but  a  man  of  great  vanity  and  pos- 
sessing a  good  deal  of  self  esteem.  He  is,  I  think,  ambitious, 
and  had  probably  a  desire  to  have  some  participation  or 
authorship  in  effecting  the  contemplated  tariff  reform.  From 
some  feeling  of  this  sort,  and  without  due  reflection,  I  con- 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  109 

jecture,  lie  took  ground  against  the  tariff  bill,  and,  having 
committed  himself,  was  of  too  proud  a  spirit,  when  he  found 
himself  separated  from  all  his  friends,  and  that  none  of  them 
would  go  with  him,  to  recede.  He  is,  moreover,  nervous, 
and  in  an  excited  state,  no  doubt,  tendered  his  resignation. 
I  give  not  the  slightest  heed  to  the  painful  insinuations  which 
I  learned  this  evening  are  made  by  illiberal  persons  as  to  the 
motives  and  causes  which  have  induced  his  course.  I  differ 
with  him  in  my  opinion  and  think  he  has  erred  in  his  re- 
signing, but  that  he  has  done  so  from  good  motives,  and  from 
the  causes  stated  above  I  have  little  doubt. 

Haywood  himself  published  an  elaborate  and  able  defense  of 
his  course,  addressed  to  the  people  of  North  Carolina.  It 
had  little  effect  upon  the  public  mind,  and  he  was  never  again 
in  public  life.  The  Whigs,  it  is  needless  to  say,  now  ex- 
pressed great  admiration  for  him  and  used  his  treatment  by 
the  Democrats  as  a  party  text. 

The  election  resulted  in  Graham's  selection  by  a  largely 
increased  majority,  7,859  in  a  total  vote  of  78,113.  The 
legislature  was  Whig  in  both  branches.  A  very  small  vote 
was  cast  on  the  penitentiary  proposition  which  was  defeated. 

The  election  was  not  well  over  before  the  Whigs  revealed 
what  was  to  be  the  chief  part  of  their  program,  namely,  the 
re-districting  of  the  State.  It  was  not  popular  with  the  peo- 
ple, but  the  leaders  were  bent  on  it.  Whig  leaders  in  fact 
were  beginning  to  ignore  the  people's  opinions  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  feeling  so  secure  that  they  failed  to  realize 
the  danger  of  their  course,  and,  in  consequence,  their  day  was 
nearing  its  end.  They  had  always  felt  the  same  superiority, 
but  they  now  were  rather  free  in  expressing  it.  They  began 
to  have  a  sense  of  ownership  of  the  government,  a  most  dan- 
gerous sign  at  all  times,  one  usually  boding  ill  for  the  people 
in  the  beginning,  but  in  a  democratic  community  presaging 
the  inevitable  doom  of  the  party  or  at  least  of  their  leader- 
ship. They  were  progressive  in  actual  policy  as  evidenced 
by  their  work  of  education  and  internal  improvements,  but 
in  attitude,  in  theory,  and  in  political  practice,  they  were  re- 


110  James  Spkttnt  Historical  Publications 

actionary  to  a  high  degree.  An  example  is  to  be  found  in 
a  political  incident  of  1846.  Governor  Graham  appointed 
Weston  R.  Gales,  the  editor  of  the  Register,  a  member  of  the 
Literary  Board.  The  Standard  commented  adversely  and 
the  Register  at  once  rebuked  Holden  for  presuming  to  in- 
terfere in  a  private  matter.  This  was  highly  characteristic 
of  the  Whig  attitude  in  general. 

When  the  legislature  met,  Andrew  Joyner  was  chosen 
speaker  of  the  Senate  over  Louis  D.  Wilson,  and  Edward 
Stanly  was  elected  in  the  House  over  D.  W.  Courts.  A  clean 
sweep  was  then  made  of  all  Democratic  officials  who  could 
be  ousted  and  Whigs  replaced  them.  Whigs  also  at  this  time 
composed  the  Literary  Board  and  Board  of  Internal  Im- 
provements. There  was  naturally  considerable  competition 
for  the  vacant  senatorship.  Badger,  Morehead,  Stanly, 
Clingman,  J.  W.  Osborne,  and  William  B.  Shepard  were  all 
mentioned.  Clingman  was  an  open  and  avowed  candidate 
and  was  present  in  Raleigh  to  look  after  his  interest.  The 
contest,  however,  was  between  Badger  and  Shepard  and  the 
former  was  selected  by  the  caucus.  He  was  accordingly 
elected  over  Asa  Biggs.  Mangum  was  re-elected  over  James 
J.  McKay  to  whom  the  Democrats  gave  the  honorary  support. 

Graham's  message  was  largely  devoted  to  questions  of 
state  finance.  He  urged  an  increase  of  the  state  revenue  by 
an  adequate  assessment  of  lands  and  polls  in  the  State  and 
also  recommended  certain  new  taxes.  He  recommended  as- 
sistance to  the  construction  of  certain  roads  and  canals  and 
reported  his  purchase  for  the  State  of  the  Raleigh  and  Gaston 
Railroad.  Through  suggestion  he  recommended  the  redis- 
ricting of  the  State. 

The  work  of  the  legislature  may  be  summed  up  briefly. 
The  State  was  re-divided  up  into  new  congressional  districts 
with  careful  gerrymandering  calculated  to  give  the  Whigs 
six  certainly  and  possibly  seven  members.  This  was  done 
under  the  lead  of  Rayner,  and  the  Democrats  coined  the  ex- 
pression, "a  Raynermander."  The  North  and  South  Carolina, 
the  Charlotte  and  South  Carolina,  the  Roanoke,  and  the  Wil- 


Pakty  Politics  in  Nokth  Carolina  111 

mington  and  Manchester  Railroads  were  chartered.  Alex- 
ander, Gaston,  and  Polk  counties  were  erected.  Authority 
was  given  for  the  endorsement  of  the  bonds  of  the  Wilming- 
ton and  Raleigh  Railroad  to  the  amount  of  $100,000,  to  re- 
deem similar  bonds  to  the  same  amount  which  had  come  due. 
Somewhat  similar  action  was  taken  for  the  Raleigh  and 
Gaston  Railroad.  A  session  of  the  Supreme  Court  to  be  held 
at  Morganton  once  a  year  was  provided  for. 

One  action  of  the  legislature  excited  particularly  hostile 
criticism  from  the  Democrats  as  well  as  from  some  Whigs. 
The  troops  that  were  being  raised  for  the  war  lacked  funds 
to  equip  them  and  to  transport  them  to  Charlotte  or  Wil- 
mington, the  points  where  they  were  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service.  An  appropriation  of  $10,000  was  according- 
ly moved.  The  Whigs  would  not  let  it  pass  until  after  long 
debate  and  bitter  opposition  from  the  Democrats  they  had 
inserted  a  preamble  beginning  with  the  words,  "Whereas 
by  the  action  the  Executive  and  the  subsequent  sanction  of 
Congress,  this  Republic  is  involved  in  a  foreign  war,"  which 
they  felt  made  their  position  clear.  Green  W.  Caldwell  was 
captain  of  the  company  from  Charlotte  and  when  the  news  of 
this  clause  came  to  him  and  his  men,  they  declined  to  receive 
any  money  under  the  resolution  and  finally  disbanded.  Cald- 
well was  later  appointed  a  captain  in  the  United  States 
army.  Many  of  the  troops  as  well  as  all  the  Democratic 
politicians  were  deeply  offended  by  Governor  Graham's  con- 
duct in  relation  to  the  field  officers  of  the  regiment  which  was 
sent.  Passing  over  the  volunteers  who  were  mainly  Demo- 
crats and  a  number  of  them  with  military  training,  he  se- 
lected as  colonel,  Robert  Paine,  of  Edenton,  a  bitter  anti-war 
Whig;  as  lieutenant  colonel,  John  A.  Fagg  of  Buncombe, 
another  of  the  same  persuasion,  neither  of  whom  were  vol- 
unteers but  both  of  whom  accepted.  Montford  Stokes  of 
Surry,  a  Democrat  trained  at  West  Point  and  a  volunteer, 
was  appointed  major.  The  overwhelming  preference  of  the 
regiment  itself  for  Louis  D.  Wilson,  who  was  captain  of  one 
of  the  Edgecombe  companies  and  it  was  for  this  reason  that 


112  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

the  legislature,  after  placing  the  selection  in  the  hands  of 
the  regiment,  repealed  the  act  and  vested  the  appointment  in 
the  governor.  Wilson  was  soon  after  appointed  a  colonel  in 
the  United  States  army  and  died  in  Mexico  of  yellow  fever. 

The  later  history  of  the  regiment  has  certain  interesting 
features.  Paine  proved  himself  to  be  a  vain  and  petty  tyrant 
who  knew  nothing  of  military  matters  and  less  about  handling 
men.  He  won  the  hatred  of  the  regiment  immediately.  In 
Mexico  the  feeling  became  very  intense  and  finally  he  shot 
two  of  his  men  without  justification,  one  of  whom  later  died. 
He  was  at  once  arrested  by  Generals  Wool  and  Cushing,  but 
was  later  released  probably  in  the  interest  of  discipline.  His 
officers  petitioned  him  to  resign  and  he  charged  two  lieuten- 
ants, George  E.  P.  Singletary  and  Joseph  S.  Pender,  with 
inciting  mutiny.  General  Wool  gave  to  each  a  dishonorable 
dismissal,  but  they  came  to  Washington  and  were  both  re- 
instated by  the  President.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  petty 
partisanship  played  a  large  part  in  the  selection  of  officers 
for  the  regiment  and  in  its  command. 

The  congressional  elections  of  1847,  in  consequence  of 
the  gerrymander,  resulted  in  the  victory  of  the  Whigs  in  six 
of  the  nine  districts.  Thomas  L.  Clingman  came  back  in  the 
first  district,  defeating  John  Gray  Bynum,  another  Whig.  In 
the  second  Nathaniel  Boyden  defeated  Joseph  M.  Bogle,  also 
a  Whig.  In  the  third  D.  M.  Barringer  was  successful,  the 
Democrats  making  no  nomination  but  voting  largely  for  W. 
F.  Leak.  A.  H.  Shepperd  defeated  J.  L.  Clemmons  in  the 
fourth.  R.  S.  Donnell  defeated  W.  K.  Lane  in  the  eighth,  and 
in  the  ninth  Asa  Biggs,  the  incumbent,  was  retired  in  favor 
of  David  Outlaw.  In  the  fifth,  Abraham  W.  Venable,  a 
Democrat,  was  elected  over  John  Kerr,  a  Whig.  In  the  sixth 
which  was  made  a  solid  Democratic  district,  there  was  a 
many-sided  contest.  J.  R.  J.  Daniel,  the  incumbent,  received 
the  convention  nomination,  but  Archibald  H.  Arrington, 
also  a  member  of  Congress,  M.  T.  Hawkins,  a  former  mem- 
ber, Henry  I.  Toole,  who  called  himself  a  Taylor  Demo- 
crat, Dr.  R.  C.  Pritchard,  all  Democrats,  and  Sidney  Weller, 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  113 

a  Whig,  were  candidates.  Hawkins  and  Weller  withdrew  in 
May  and  Pritchard  in  July  but  the  others  remained  in  the 
race.  Daniel  was  elected.  The  new  arrangement  of  the  dis- 
tricts put  James  C.  Dobbin  and  James  J.  McKay  both  in  the 
seventh  district  and  Dobbin  declined  to  be  a  candidate  against 
McKay,  whom  he  thought  entitled  to  re-election.  McKay 
was  opposed  by  Robert  K.  Bryan  of  New  Hanover,  an  inde- 
pendent Democrat,  and  by  William  R,.  Hall  of  Brunswick,  a 
Whig,  but  was  re-elected. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1848 

The  campaign  of  1848  was  formally  opened  by  the  Whig 
convention  which  met  February  22,  but  in  reality  the  Demo- 
crats, animated  by  some  new  spirit,  had  begun  it  in  the 
autumn  of  1847.  The  convention  representing  twenty-eight 
counties  with  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  delegates  pres- 
ent was  a  different  sort  of  body  from  what  Whig  conventions 
had  usually  been.  It  cannot  be  said  that  the  delegates  lacked 
confidence,  but  they  were  notably  lacking  in  spirit. 

Richard  Hines  was  the  president  of  the  convention.  The 
platform  condemned  the  Polk  Administration  for  the  war 
which  they  pronounced  "an  unauthorized  aggression  upon  the 
rights  of  a  neighboring  Nation."  The  delegates  were  much 
divided  in  their  sympathies  as  to  presidential  candidates, 
and  while  the  majority  were  still  loyal  to  Clay  in  their  hearts, 
some  few  favored  Taylor  and  a  smaller  number  still  believed 
Scott  the  proper  candidate.  All,  however,  wanted  to  win 
regardless  of  platform  or  candidate.  So  after  a  series  of 
resolutions,  embodying  the  leading  features  of  Clay's  then 
recent  Lexington  speech,  had  been  adopted,  the  convention 
endorsed  Clay,  Taylor  and  Scott.  John  Kerr  was  the  Taylor 
leader  in  the  convention  and  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the 
national  convention  as  was  John  M.  Morehead,  who  strongly 
favored  the  nomination  of  Clay. 

The  public  and  the  convention  itself  was  much  in  the 
dark  as  to  a  choice  of  a  candidate  for  governor.  Not  so  the 
group  of  Whig  leaders  in  Raleigh.  Many  persons  had  been 
mentioned  including  Richard  Hines,  Andrew  Joyner,  Dr. 
F.  J.  Hill,  John  Kerr,  Edward  Stanly,  James  W.  Bryan, 
Lewis  Thompson,  Josiah  Collins,  William  B.  Shepard,  Ken- 
neth Rayner,  and  David  L.  Swain.  Rayner  and  Kerr  had 
peremptorily  refused  to  be  considered.  But  none  of  these 
suited  the  plans  of  the  leaders  and  to  the  great  surprise  of 
the  State,  Charles  Manly,  who  was  one  of  the  well-known 


Paety  Politics  in  Nokth  Carolina  115 

Whigs  who  had  not  been  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
nomination,  was  chosen  by  the  convention.  This  greatly  dis- 
pleased many  Whigs,  particularly  in  the  East.  They  had  felt 
that  the  nomination  was  due  that  section  and  they  could  not 
see  why  Manly  should  have  been  chosen.  A  number  of  the 
Whig  papers  were  outspoken  in  their  displeasure,  the  North 
State,  published  at  Washington,  going  so  far  as  to  say  that 
it  had  been  brought  about  by  a  "nefarious  plot  of  political 
jugglers."  Others  denied  that  Manly  had  any  particular 
qualifications  for  the  office,  saying  as  did  the  Democrats  that 
he  was  merely  an  office-holding  lawyer.  At  the  time  of  his 
nomination  he  was  secretary  of  the  University  trustees, 
county  attorney  for  Chatham,  bank  attorney,  attorney  for 
the  Literary  Board,  attorney  for  a  life  insurance  company, 
member  of  the  Literary  Board,  and  clerk  of  the  House  of 
Commons. 

Manly  was  a  native  of  Chatham  and  was  born  in  1795. 
Prepared  for  college  by  Mr.  Bingham,  he  entered  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina  in  1811  and  graduated  in  1814. 
Upon  his  graduation  he  went  to  Raleigh  as  a  tutor  and 
studying  law  there  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  served  as 
reading  clerk  of  the  House  of  Commons  for  a  number  of 
years  and  in  1830  was  elected  chief  clerk  and,  with  one  inter- 
mission, held  the  position  for  ten  terms.  In  1823  he  was  ap- 
pointed clerk  to  the  commission  to  settle  claims  under  the 
Treaty  of  Ghent  and  served  for  one  year.  He  had  been  for 
many  years  secretary  of  the  trustees  of  the  University.  He 
was  a  presidential  elector  in  1840  and  for  a  number  of  years 
was  a  member  of  the  Whig  central  committee,  part  of  the 
time  being  chairman.  He  was  a  man  of  great  charm  of  man- 
ner, probably  the  most  cordial  of  all  the  governors  of  the 
State,  and  was  noted  for  his  ability  to  entertain  any  group  in 
which  he  might  be  thrown.  He  was  really  a  man  of  con- 
siderable ability,  but  his  propensity  for  rather  slangy  joking 
at  all  times  prevented  the  fact  from  being  generally  recog- 
nized. He  was  in  no  sense  progressive;  in  fact  as  compared 
to  Morehead  or  Graham  he  was  a  reactionary. 


116  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

The  Democratic  convention  met  on  April  12.  Weldon  N". 
Edwards  was  president.  Twenty-five  counties  sent  one  hun- 
dred and  sixteen  delegates.  The  platform  prepared  by  the 
ready  pen  of  William  W.  Holden,  contained  a  strong  endorse- 
ment of  the  administration's  settlement  with  Mexico,  of  the 
independent  treasury,  of  the  tariff  of  1846,  and,  in  fact,  of 
all  the  Democratic  measures.  Polk  was  also  personally  en- 
dorsed. It  denounced  the  Whigs  for  encouraging  the  enemy 
in  the  late  war  and  pronounced  them  guilty  of  moral  treason, 
condemned  the  preamble  of  the  war  appropriation  bill  passed 
by  the  preceding  legislature  as  well  as  the  appointment  of 
the  regimental  officers  as  opposed  to  election  by  the  regiment. 
The  increasing  state  debt  called  for  more  censure  as  did  the 
redistricting  of  the  State  and,  turning  to  national  matters, 
the  Wilmot  Proviso.  Weldon  N.  Edwards  and  Robert  Strange 
were  elected  delegates  to  the  national  convention,  with  A. 
W.  Venable  and  W.  S.  Ashe  as  alternates. 

A  number  of  men  had  been  locally  nominated  for  gover- 
nor, most  prominent  of  whom  were  Charles  Fisher,  D.  W. 
Courts,  Robert  Strange  and  Walter  F.  Leak.  The  last  named 
had  published  a  long  letter  expressing  his  willingness  to  be 
the  nominee,  but  declaring  himself  unalterably  opposed  to 
any  personal  canvass  of  the  State. 

The  committee  to  choose  a  candidate  had  a  very  difficult 
time.  Their  choice,  whoever  he  might  be,  seemed  doomed  to 
certain  defeat  and  it  was  hard  to  select  the  best  person  to 
lead  the  forlorn  hope.  In  the  committee,  Holden,  R.  P. 
Dick,  W.  K.  Lane,  and  James  B.  Shepard  urged  the  selec- 
tion of  David  S.  Reid  of  Rockingham.  His  name  was  finally 
presented  to  the  convention  and  unanimously  ratified. 

The  Democratic  nominee  was  a  native  of  Rockingham 
County  and  was  born  in  1813  and  was  thus  only  35  years  old, 
Manly  being  53.  His  lack  of  years  was  one  of  the  Whig 
charges  against  him  in  the  campaign.  He  received  only  a 
common  school  education  prior  to  his  study  of  law  and  was 
never  what  might  be  called  a  learned  lawyer.  In  fact  his 
reputation  rests  upon  his  public  career.     He  began  this  as  a 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  117 

member  of  the  state  Senate  where  lie  served  from  1835  to 
1841.  In  1843  he  was  elected  to  Congress  and  served  two 
terms  until  he  was  gerrymandered  out  of  office.  He  was 
known  as  a  hard  campaigner,  and  as  an  exceedingly  bold  and 
fearless  leader  whose  ability  was  excellent,  whose  judgment 
was  almost  unerring,  and  whose  honesty  and  sincerity  could 
not  be  doubted.  In  him  the  Democrats  found  the  wisest, 
safest,  and  most  resourceful  political  leader  the  party  had 
from  the  time  of  Nathaniel  Macon's  prime  to  1860. 

A  committee  of  the  convention  notified  him  of  his  nomi- 
nation and  to  their  horror  he  declined  it.  Holden  had  the 
letter  in  type  and  about  to  go  to  press,  but,  knowing  it  meant 
certain  defeat  for  the  party  if  published,  he  determined  to 
hold  it  back.  A  consultation  with  several  other  Democrats  re- 
sulted in  the  sending  of  a  messenger  on  horseback,  riding  day 
and  night,  with  a  letter  to  Beid  urging  him  to  reconsider  and, 
accepting  the  nomination,  to  come  to  Baleigh  prepared  to 
enter  the  campaign.  Beid  did  accept  and  when  he  reached 
Ealeigh  had  a  long  conference  with  his  friends  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  campaign.  With  Dr.  Josiah  Watson,  James  B. 
Shepard,  W.  W.  Holden,  Perrin  Busbee,  Jerry  Nixon,  W. 
T.  Eogers  and  Mark  Williams  present  he  said :  "Gentlemen, 
this  nomination  was  not  sought  by  me,  and  it  has  been  my 
purpose  for  a  long  time  if  I  should  be  a  candidate  for  a  State 
office  before  the  people,  to  broach  one  issue,  which  I  deem 
very  important.  What  I  mean  is  that  the  state  constitution 
shall  be  so  amended  by  the  mode  prescribed  by  that  instru- 
ment itself,  that  all  voters  for  the  House  of  Commons  shall 
be  allowed  to  vote  for  senators.  What  do  you  say  to  my 
taking  this  ground  in  the  canvass  ?  I  mean,  of  course,  no  dis- 
respect to  the  convention  that  nominated  me,  but  I  wish  to 
discuss  this  question  before  the  people.  I  want  your  opinion. 
I  will  consult  our  friend,  Dr.  S.  A.  Andrews  at  Goldsborough, 
and  friend  Samuel  E.  Street  at  Newbern,  and  friends  at 
Beaufort,  and  then  I  will  decide  what  I  will  do." 

Holden's  later  accounts  of  his  part  in  the  selection  of  the 
issue  vary.     In  his  memoirs  he  says  that  Watson,  Shepard, 


118  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

and  Busbee  were  inclined  to  decide  against  broaching  it  and 
that  he,  Nixon,  Rogers  and  Williams  favored  it.  In  the 
campaign  he  declared  that  he  favored  the  change  but  had 
doubts  of  the  wisdom  of  bringing  it  forward  in  this  campaign 
but  had  nevertheless  pledged  his  support  to  it.  This  is  prob- 
ably the  correct  account.  Some  years  later  he  declared 
that  he  had  urged  its  being  made  the  issue.  It  has  been 
frequently  suggested  that  Douglas  while  in  the  State  had 
proposed  it  to  Reid  as  a  good  campaign  proposition.  But 
Douglas  denied  it  as  did  Reid  and  Holden  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  believe  that  anyone  but  Reid  was  responsible.  It 
was  no  new  suggestion  as  has  already  been  seen. 

The  first  joint  debate  of  the  candidates  was  held  at 
ISTew  Bern  on  May  10.  Manly  devoted  his  entire  time  to 
the  late  war  and  other  national  questions.  Reid  in  his  speech 
replied  briefly  to  Manly  and  then  avowed  his  belief  that  a 
change  in  the  constitution  was  necessary.  He  called  his  pro- 
position "free  suffrage,"  a  good  campaign  title  which  won 
immediate  favor.  He  discussed  the  question  at  length  giving 
his  reasons  for  it  and  showing  the  absurdity  of  the  existing 
arrangement.  Manly  was  called  upon  for  reply,  but  saying 
that  the  proposition  was  a  complete  surprise  to  him,  he  was 
not  prepared  to  express  himself  upon  it  then  but  would  do  so 
the  next  day  at  Beaufort.  When  he  replied  then  he  con- 
demned it  as  a  new  issue  sprung  upon  him  and  upon  the 
people  with  no  public  demand  behind  it  and  declared  his  en- 
tire opposition  to  it  and  pleaded  that  the  principle  engrafted 
on  the  constitution  by  the  fathers  for  the  security  and  protec- 
tion of  the  landed  interest  should  be  preserved.  "As  well," 
said  he,  "abolish  the  Senate  as  extend  the  privilege  of  voting 
for  senators  to  those  who  have  no  land."  He  also  expressed 
his  fear  of  a  convention.  Reid  was  prepared  for  this,  for 
he  recognized  the  timidity  of  the  people  as  to  any  changes 
in  the  established  system,  and  so  he  endorsed  the  legislative 
method  of  amendment. 

Most  of  the  Whig  papers  at  first  opposed  free  suffrage 
and  then  many  tried  to  ignore  it.    A  few  from  the  beginning 


Pakty  Politics  in  North  Carolina  119 

admitted  that  it  would  do  little  harm  if  adopted.  The  Regis- 
ter naturally  attacked  it,  pronouncing  it  demagoguery  of  the 
worst  type.  The  usual  term  with  which  the  Whigs  attempted 
to  damn  it  was  "agrarianism."  A  characteristic  opposition 
editorial  appeared  in  the  Wilmington  Commercial,  part  of 
which  follows: 

Among  the  measures  which  follow  in  the  train  of  free 
suffrage,  or  rather  among  those  which  are  advocated  by  the 
movers  of  this  scheme,  is  the  desecration  of  the  Bible  and 
the  abolition  of  matrimony.  This  is  the  consummation  so 
ardently  desired,  by  Jacobins  in  politics  and  levellers  in  so- 
ciology; they  go  hand  in  hand  in  the  work;  whatever  re- 
strains the  passions,  or  curbs  the  ardor  of  political  proscrip- 
tion, is  hostile  to  the  feelings  and  designs  of  both. 

-It  is  a  distinguished  feature  in  those  monstrosities,  that 
while  they  assume  the  largest  liberty  for  themselves,  they 
have  the  very  smallest  regard  for  the  rights  of  others.  The 
command  "Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  comes  in  the  way  of  the 
taxing  the  property  of  the  landholder  without  his  consent. 
"Thou  shalt  not  covet,"  is  adverse  to  the  equal  division  of 
property.  "Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,"  is  against  the 
abolition  of  matrimony,  and  the  cherished  licentiousness  of 
the  levellers;  and  "As  ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto 
you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them,"  scatters  all  the  doctrines  of  the 
whole  tribe,  to  the  winds.  So  that  before  this  "progression" 
can  be  brought  to  its  grand  climacteric,  the  Bible  must  be 
put  away,  as  behind  the  "spirit  of  the  age,"  in  its  doctrines 
and  admonitions. 

We  believe  the  Democratic  leaders  are  at  fault  in  this 
pursuit.  They  never  can  induce  the  sober,  thinking  people 
of  North  Carolina  to  hazard  the  violation  of  the  principles 
of  republican  government,  and  take  a  step  which  may  lead  to 
the  removal  from  the  Ark  of  the  great  Charter  of  temporal 
and  eternal  blessedness  and  hope ;  and  to  trample  beneath  the 
feet  of  deriding  licentiousness  the  banner  of  the  Cross,  under 
the  influence  of  which  we  have  so  long  and  so  gloriously  pros- 
pered, and  through  the  counsels  of  which  our  institutions 
were  reared. 

This  has  a  familiar  ring  even  today. 


120         James  Speunt  Historical  Publications 

Towards  the  end  of  the  campaign  many  Whigs  weakened 
and  a  large  number  openly  favored  the  amendment,  particu- 
larly in  the  Whig  stronghold  of  the  West.  This  was  so  ap- 
parent that  some  Whig  papers  condemned  the  Democrats 
for  introducing  it  into  the  realm  of  party  politics,  saying 
that  it  was  not  and,  from  its  very  nature,  ought  not  to  be  a 
party  question.  This  was  a  not  uncharacteristic  point  of 
view.  In  the  view  of  many  of  the  Whigs,  nothing  which 
touched  deeply  the  whole  people  of  the  State  should  be 
brought  forward  by  a  party — if  that  party  was  the  Demo- 
cratic. As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Democratic  party  deserves 
eternal  praise  for  finally  centering  the  attention  of  the 
State  upon  a  real  state  issue,  unconnected  with  any  national 
matter  and  touching  only  North  Carolina.  In  many  ways 
it  transformed  the  State. 

The  Democratic  rank  and  file  accepted  free  suffrage  glad- 
ly. It  was  good  Democratic  doctrine,  it  "took"  with  the 
people  regardless  of  politics,  it  alarmed  the  Whigs,  and  it 
promised  victory.  And  like  the  Whigs,  the  Democrats  want- 
ed victory.  Holden  threw  himself  into  the  fight,  ably  sup- 
plementing Eeid's  really  magnificent  campaigning,  and  the 
Standard  was  full  of  strong  arguments  for  the  change.  It 
was  easy  to  find  arguments.  North  Carolina  was  the  only 
State  in  the  Union  which  had  such  a  distinction  between  the 
voters  for  the  two  houses  and,  in  addition,  it  had  not  any  real 
reason  for  existence.  On  the  stump  Manly  with  his  slangy 
humorous  speeches  vainly  attempted  to  force  the  fighting  to 
the  war  issue,  and,  failing  in  that,  to  some  other  national 
question.  Eeid  made  no  attempt  to  imitate  Manly's  charac- 
teristic methods  but  in  a  mood  of  stern  seriousness,  remem- 
bering the  mental  and  political  habits  of  the  people,  fostered 
and  encouraged  for  many  years  by  leaders  who  did  not  want 
them  to  be  too  much  interested  in  state  affairs,  he  answered 
briefly  and  spiritedly  the  national  arguments  of  his  opponent 
and  devoted  the  major  part  of  his  time  to  the  issue  which 
touched  the  State. 

The  Democrats  were  finding  themselves.     The  Standard 


Paety  Politics  in  Worth  Carolina  121 

carried  the  following  at  the  head  of  its  editorial  page  which 
is  indicative  of  the  new  progressive  spirit  which  was  mani- 
festing itself  in  the  party : 

OUR  FLAG  IS  THERE 

The  Independent  Treasury,  and  no  National  hank. 

The  tariff  of  1846. 

The  United  States  against  Mexico — No  "aid  and  com- 
fort" to  the  enemy. 

Indemnity  in  Territory  from  Mexico,  and  no  Wilmot 
Proviso. 

Sound,  specie-paying  State  banks,  with  the  individual 
liability  clause,  and  honestly  and  impartially  conducted. 

A  safe,  prudent,  and  judicious  system  of  Internal  Im- 
provements, with  justice  to  all  parts  of  the  State. 

Our  Common  School  System,  improved  and  amended, 
and  the  right  of  every  boy  and  girl  in  the  State  to  an  edu- 
cation. 

A  thorough  Reform  in  the  Administration  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  North  Carolina. 

Free  Suffrage — or  the  right  of  every  freeman  in  the 
State,  who  pays  his  taxes,  to  vote  for  members  of  both 
branches  of  the  General  Assembly. 

We  have  thrown  our  flag  to  the  winds,  with  our  principles 
clearly  and  boldly  inscribed  upon  it;  and  we  now  call  upon 
the  Whig  presses  to  come  forward  and  inform  the  people  of 
North  Carolina  what  they  are  for  and  what  they  are  against. 
Let  them  speak  out  at  once,  if  they  intend  to  speak  at  all 
for  the  August  elections  are  near  at  hand. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  because  a  state  question 
was  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  everyone  that  national  affairs 
played  no  part  in  the  campaign.  They  played  a  large  part 
and  to  the  advantage  of  the  Democrats.  Just  at  this  time 
the  Federal  Whigs  were  distinctly  in  the  ascendant  and 
while  no  one  in  the  State  quarreled  with  their  Union  pro- 
clivities, the  Democrats  and  many  Whigs  were  deeply  dis- 
satisfied with  their  views  and  conduct  in  relation  to  the 
slavery  question.  The  Whig  press  had  bitterly  attacked  the 
Wilmot  Proviso,  partly,  it  must  be  confessed,  because  it  was 


122  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

introduced  by  a  Democrat.  The  Register,  for  example,  had 
said: 

The  unanimity  with  which  the  members  of  both  parties  from 
the  non-slaveholding  States  have  supported  this  slavery  re- 
striction proviso  convinces  us  that  we  have  no  right  to  ex- 
pect justice  at  the  hands  of  either.  It  behooves  the  whole 
South,  then,  to  cast  about,  and  decidedly  and  unflinchingly 
resist  any  and  every  project  which  must  inevitably  tend  to 
advance  the  unholy  and  mischievous  purposes  of  those  who 
have  openly  and  willingly  violated  the  Missouri  Compromise. 
.  .  .  It  is  time  for  party  distinctions  to  sleep,  and  for  the 
South  to  present  a  united  front. 

As  the  Register  was  the  party  organ  this  might  be 
supposed  to  be  an  authoritative  statement  of  party  opin- 
ion. But  the  party  did  not  live  up  to  the  doctrines  here 
expressed  and  the  Whig  platform  ignored  the  whole 
matter.  The  Democrats  were  not  slow  to  say  what  was 
really  the  truth  that  this  omission  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
party  was  led  by  the  anti-slavery  Northern  element,  com- 
mitted to  hostility  to  slavery,  and  that  the  North  Carolina 
Whigs  were  attempting  to  keep  on  good  terms  with  them  so  as 
to  win  a  party  victory  even  at  the  price  of  surrendering  some- 
what of  their  opinions.  A  rift  was  apparent  among  the 
Whigs,  foreshadowing  the  large  secession  from  the  party 
which  was  to  take  place  in  the  early  years  of  the  following 
decade.  Badger  admitted  the  right  of  Congress  to  legislate 
for  the  territories  concerning  slavery.  This  was  the  view 
which  North  Carolinians  generally  had  previously  held.  But 
Mangum  denied  emphatically  the  correctness  of  the  doctrine. 
Badger  also  in  order  to  prevent  the  rise  of  vexing  questions, 
was  opposed  to  the  acquisition  of  any  territory  from  Mexico 
and  voted  against  the  treaty  of  peace  although  he  considered 
the  war  iniquitous.  Mangum  voted  for  it.  Boyden  favored 
the  surrender  of  all  claims  against  Mexico  and  wanted  to 
surrender  a  part  of  Texas.  Barringer  in  1846  had  voted 
that  the  war  was  brought  on  by  the  act  of  Mexico,  but  in 
1848  he  voted  that  the  war  was  brought  on  unconstitutionally 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  123 

and  unnecessarily  by  President  Polk.  In  the  Summer  of 
1848  Mangum,  Barringer,  Shepperd,  Clingman,  and  Outlaw 
with  the  three  Democratic  members  of  Congress,  voted  for 
the  Clayton  Compromise:  Badger,  Boyden,  and  Donnell  vot- 
ed against  it.  Clingman  was  waking  to  a  knowledge  and  com- 
prehension of  the  strength  of  the  anti-slavery  movement  in 
the  North  and  was  beginning  to  attempt  to  secure  a  union  of 
Northern  and  Southern  Whigs  on  some  common  ground  which 
would  stop  the  agitation  and  save  the  party.  He  favored  the 
extension  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  line  to  the  Pacific. 

John  M.  Morehead  was  president  of  the  Whig  National 
convention.  The  delegation  was  much  divided  in  sentiment 
as  appears  from  their  vote. 

First  Ballot — Taylor,  6 ;  Clay,  5. 
Second  Ballot — Taylor,  6 ;  Clay  5. 
Third  Ballot — Taylor,  7 ;  Clay,  3 ;  Scott,  1. 
Fourth  Ballot — Taylor,  10 ;  Clay,  1. 

North  Carolina  Whigs,  as  has  been  said,  really  wanted 
Clay,  but  they  wanted  above  everything  else  to  win,  and  Tay- 
lor was  accepted  with  sincerity  and  enthusiasm.  His  being  a 
Southerner  and  a  slaveholder  seemed  to  them,  too,  to  guaran- 
tee a  cessation  of  the  anti-slavery  agitation.  It  is  said  on 
apparently  good  authority  that  Kenneth  Rayner  was  offered 
the  second  place  on  the  ticket  and  declined.  But  there  is  no 
contemporary  evidence  of  this  offer. 

In  the  Democratic  national  convention  the  North  Carolina 
delegation  agreed  informally  to  support  James  Buchanan  and 
James  J.  McKay.  When  the  balloting  began  they  cast  the 
first  and  second  ten  votes  for  Buchanan  and  one  for  Levi 
Woodbury,  after  which  they  voted  for  Cass.  McKay's  candi- 
dacy for  the  vice-presidency  aroused  no  interest  and  he  re- 
ceived only  two  votes  from  other  delegations. 

The  state  and  national  campaigns  were  pushed  by  both 
parties.  Each  side  had  naturally  much  condemnation  for  the 
other's  candidates.  The  Whigs  were  loud  in  their  assertions 
that  Cass  was  not  entirely  sound  in  his  views  on  slavery  and 


124         James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

in  their  hearts  many  Democrats  agreed  with  them  that  such 
a  thing  was  only  too  possible.  The  Democrats  were  equally 
loud  in  their  pronouncements  as  to  Taylor's  unfitness  and  of 
Fillmore's  abolitionist  views.  Both  sides  were  affected.  Cass 
was  looked  upon  with  suspicion  by  Democrats  and  Whigs 
began  to  fear  that  Northern  influence  in  the  party  boded  ill 
for  the  South  and  slavery.  The  Southern  Whigs  were  badly 
out  of  touch  with  the  other  wing  of  the  party  and  only  the 
reassuring  facts  in  connection  with  Taylor  already  alluded 
to  kept  them  line.  They  began  to  feel  that  it  might  be 
well  for  the  individual  State  to  look  to  united  action  at 
home  and  this  combined  with  the  popularity  of  Reid's  pro- 
gram greatly  weakened  the  party  in  the  state  election.  Only 
the  power  of  the  strong  organization  prevented  their  defeat 
in  the  Summer  elections. 

Manly  was  elected  by  the  slender  majority  of  854  in  a 
total  of  84,218.  The  Democrats  had  made  a  net  gain  of  ten 
counties.  The  legislature  was  tied  in  both  houses.  From  the 
standpoint  of  Democratic  prospects  at  the  beginning  of  the 
campaign  it  was  really  a  victory,  and  they  so  regarded  it. 
Free  suffrage  of  course  was  chiefly  responsible. 

The  presidential  campaign  waxed  as  the  gubernatorial 
contest  waned.  An  interesting  and  really  highly  significant 
fact  of  the  campaign  was  the  holding  of  free  soil  meetings 
in  several  places  in  the  State  and  the  selection  of  a  Van 
Buren  electoral  ticket  which  received  in  the  election  forty- 
seven  votes  in  Guilford,  sixteen  in  Orange  and  thirteen  in 
Chatham.  It  was  the  last  public  expression  of  anti-slavery 
sentiment  in  the  State  for  some  time.  Public  feeling  was 
strongly  favorable  to  slavery,  and  the  growing  minority  which 
hated  it  with  increasing  hatred  was  a  silent  element  in  the 
population  of  the  State. 

Taylor  carried  the  November  election  by  8,154  in  a  total 
vote  of  81,280.  North  Carolina  Democrats  in  common  with 
many  other  Southern  Democrats  had  failed  to  do  their  part, 
and  Taylor's  vote  in  the  South  is  significant  because  of  the 
proof   it  furnishes   of   the   growing   sectional   feeling.     A 


Party  Politcis  in  North  Carolina  125 

Southerner  and  a  slaveholder,  albeit  a  Whig,  he  was  more 
acceptable  to  a  certain  class  of  Southern  Democrats  than  a 
man  of  their  own  party  who  had  even  won  the  title  later  so 
opprobrious  in  the  North  of  "a  Northern  man  with  South- 
ern principles." 

The  campaign  of  1848,  the  last  accompanied  by  complete 
Whig  victory,  saw  the  Democratic  party  alert  and  progres- 
sive, ready  to  take  control  of  the  State.  It  was  committed  to 
public  education  and  largely  committed  to  internal  improve- 
ments. The  Standard,  the  very  best  indicator  of  Democratic 
sentiment,  took  a  strong  favorable  position  at  the  close  of  the 
campaign  for  both  and  the  last  obstacle  to  Democratic  success 
before  the  people  was  thus  removed. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  LEGISLATURE  OF  1848 

The  session  of  the  General  Assembly  which  met  in  No- 
vember, 1848,  will  always  stand  out  in  North  Carolina  as  one 
of  the  most  important  in  the  history  of  the  State,  if  indeed 
it  may  not  be  regarded  as  the  one  of  chief  importance.  In 
its  accomplishment  for  the  State  and  in  its  debates  were  visi- 
ble the  changes  which  were  steadily  being  wrought  in  the  very 
fabric  of  the  commonwealth.  It  is  hard  to  associate  it  with 
those  predecessors  of  which  Swain  was  so  justly  critical;  in 
fact  there  was  little  similarity  in  spirit,  since  in  this  later 
period  the  State  and  its  people  were  steadily  and  rapidly 
being  re-made. 

As  has  already  been  noted,  the  legislature  in  both  houses 
was  evenly  divided  between  the  two  parties  after  the  election. 
Several  vacancies  occurred  before  the  meeting,  but  the  special 
elections  made  no  change  in  the  relative  standing  of  the  two 
parties.  At  the  opening,  the  Democrats  offered  to  yield  the 
speakership  of  the  House  of  Commons,  if  the  Whigs  would 
yield  in  the  Senate.  The  Whigs  contemptuously  refused,  ar- 
guing that  since  they  had  elected  the  governor  the  Democrats 
ought  to  concede  both  positions  to  them.  In  the  Senate  they 
nominated  Andrew  Joyner  and  the  Democrats  selected  Cal- 
vin Graves.  In  the  House  Robert  B.  Gilliam  and  James  C. 
Dobbin  were  respectively  the  Whig  and  Democratic  nominees. 
Organization  was  deferred  in  both  houses  until  the  third  day 
when  the  Democrats  withdrew  Dobbin's  name,  allowing  the 
Whigs  to  elect  Gilliam.  The  Whigs  still  refused  to  yield, 
but  on  the  sixth  day  they  offered  to  compromise  and  let 
Graves  be  elected  if  the  Democrats  would  agree  to  make  no 
changes  in  the  clerks.  This  was  agreed  to,  and  of  the  eight 
lesser  positions  the  Whigs  retained  five. 

After  organization,  the  election  of  a  United  States  senator 
claimed  all  the  attention  of  the  members  who  spent  most  of 
their  time  caucusing  and  scheming.    Badger  was  the  regular 


Pakty  Politics  in  Nokth  Carolina  127 

Whig  candidate,  but  many  Whigs  did  not  like  him,  and  his 
attitude  on  the  slavery  question  and  the  war  had  alienated  the 
strongly  pro-slavery  Whigs.  Nothing  was  needed  to  alienate 
the  Democrats  who  as  a  rule  detested  him.  They  had  small 
hope  of  electing  a  Senator  by  a  regular  nomination  so  they 
made  none  and  hoped  for  some  stroke  of  good  fortune  which 
might  enable  them  to  defeat  the  will  of  their  opponents.  As 
to  Badger,  they  yielded  not  at  all. 

The  Whigs  claimed  that  since  the  State  had  voted  for 
Taylor  that  the  Democrats  had  no  moral  or  even  legal  right 
to  oppose  the  Whig  choice  for  senator,  and,  fearing  the  cer- 
tain deadlock  might  be  prolonged  until  the  end  of  the  session, 
they  finally  introduced  into  the  Senate  the  following  resolu- 
tion which  was  defeated  by  a  party  vote,  one  member  being 
absent : 

Whereas,  this  is  a  Government  in  which  all  political 
power  is  vested  in  and  derived  from  the  people ; 

Whereas,  it  is  the  manifest  duty  of  Representatives  to 
carry  out  strictly  the  known  wishes  of  their  constituents  in 
the  discharge  of  all  their  elective  duties; 

Whereas,  the  free  people  of  this  State  have  recently,  at 
the  ballot  box,  declared  their  political  preference  in  a  voice 
which  their  representative  agents  ought  not  to  slight  or  dis- 
regard ; 

Whereas,  respectful  deference  on  the  part  of  the  minority 
for  the  will  of  the  majority,  when  legally  and  constitutionally 
expressed,  is  true  republicanism ; 

And,  whereas,  all  delay  and  management,  under  pre- 
tense, however  fair  and  imposing,  the  object  of  which  is  to 
defeat  the  will  of  the  people  thus  expressed,  are  contrary  to 
the  spirit  and  genius  of  the  Government; 

Resolved,  That  a  message  be  sent  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, proposing  that  the  two  houses,  on  Tuesday  next,  at  12 
o'clock,  proceed  to  the  election  of  a  United  States  Senator. 

As  the  balloting  proceeded,  the  Democrats  began  to  throw 
a  good  deal  of  their  strength  to  Clingman,  who  was  most 
anxious  for  the  election.  He  was  deeply  dissatisfied  with 
Badger's  views ;  he  was  growing  to  have  the  same  feeling  of 


128  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

hopelessness  about  the  Whig  party.  A  committee  of  Demo- 
crats asked  him  for  an  expression  of  his  political  views  and 
in  December  he  replied  that  he  was  opposed  to  the  establish- 
ment of  a  national  bank,  opposed  to  the  repeal  of  the  Walker 
tariff,  although  he  favored  certain  modifications  of  it,  and 
that  he  was  opposed  to  the  Wilmot  Proviso  as  wrong  in  prin- 
ciple and,  in  addition,  unconstitutional.  This  satisfied  the 
Democrats.  The  deadlock  continued  for  some  time  but  final- 
ly Badger  won  enough  votes  to  receive  the  necessary  majority 
and  was  elected. 

There  was  a  long  contest  over  the  election  of  a  Supreme 
Court  judge  to  succeed  Judge  Daniel  who  had  died  during 
the  year.  The  governor  and  council  had  appointed  William 
H.  Battle  and  had  filled  his  place  on  the  Superior  bench  by 
the  appointment  of  Augustus  Moore.  B.  F.  Moore  had  been 
appointed  attorney-general  to  succeed  Edward  Stanly  who 
had  resigned  to  become  a  member  of  the  legislature,  service 
in  the  hurly-burly  of  some  sort  of  legislative  chamber  having 
become  almost  a  necessity  to  his  fiery  soul.  The  legislature 
at  once  confirmed  the  appointment  of  the  two  Mo'ores,  but 
after  a  long  contest  Battle  was  defeated  by  Richmond  M. 
Pearson,  the  Democrats  supporting  Strange.  Battle  was 
then  voted  for  to  succeed  Pearson  on  the  Superior  bench,  but 
John  W.  Ellis  of  Rowan,  a  member  of  the  House,  was 
chosen.  The  retirement  of  Ellis  from  the  legislature  had  an 
important  bearing  upon  the  later  action  of  the  legislature. 
These  two  elections  were  brought  about  by  an  agreement  be- 
tween several  Whigs  and  Democrats  to  end  the  contests  by 
exchanging  votes,  the  latter  voting  for  Pearson  and  the 
former  for  Ellis. 

The  free  suffrage  issue  of  the  preceding  campaign  found 
its  echo  in  a  resolution  for  a  constitutional  amendment  intro- 
duced into  the  House  by  James  Sheek  of  Surry.  This,  after 
a  hard  filibuster  by  the  Whigs  and  the  rejection  of  a  substi- 
tute proposed  by  Rayner,  providing  for  a  convention,  passed 
its  second  reading  by  a  vote  of  75  to  26,  28  Whigs  voting 
for  the  measure  and  five  Democrats  against  it.    It  passed  its 


Pakty  Politics  in  North  Carolina  129 

third  reading  by  a  vote  of  75  to  21.  The  Whigs  thus  ap- 
parently gave  np  the  fight,  and  Democratic  success  in  1850 
was  practically  assured.  The  resolution  went  to  the  Senate 
and  was  discussed  at  length  there.  It  received  a  majority, 
25  to  19,  but  did  not  get  the  three-fifths  vote  necessary  for  a 
constitutional  amendment  on  its  passage  through  its  first 
legislature. 

Very  early  in  the  session,  Walter  L.  Steele  of  Richmond, 
a  Whig,  introduced  a  series  of  resolutions  on  the  subject  of 
slavery,  which  declared  the  territories  the  common  property 
of  the  States,  denied  to  Congress  any  power  to  prohibit  any 
citizen  from  carrying  into  them  his  property  in  slaves,  a  prop- 
erty guaranteed  by  the  Constitution,  and  asserted  that  the 
only  conditions  which  the  Constitution  imposed  upon  a  State 
for  admission  into  the  Union  was  that  its  own  Constitu- 
tion should  be  republican  in  form.  They  denied  the  principle 
of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  but  offered  to  accept  its  exten- 
sion as  a  compromise.  The  resolutions  expressed  devotion 
to  the  Union.  Many  of  the  Whigs  were  opposed  to  these, 
regarding  them  as  a  thrust  at  Badger,  the  Register  saying 
that  they  were  "tomfoolery"  and  the  work  of  "political 
mountebanks,"  but  almost  as  many  considered  them  as  en- 
tirely proper,  eminently  timely,  if  indeed  not  rendered  abso- 
lutely necessary  by  the  national  situation.  After  many 
Whig  amendments,  designed  to  weaken  or  discredit  the  reso- 
lutions, had  been  voted  down  by  a  combination  of  both  parties 
the  resolutions  were  referred  to  a  committee  of  which  James 
C.  Dobbin  was  chairman  and  a  substitute  was  reported  by  it 
which  differed  very  little  from  the  original.  These  passed 
their  second  and  third  readings  practically  without  opposi- 
tion. In  the  Senate  they  were  introduced  by  William  B. 
Shepard,  the  best  representative  of  the  strongly  pro-South- 
ern, pro-slavery  Whigs  of  the  East  who  were  not  at  all  be- 
hind the  Democrats  in  their  suspicion  and  dislike  of  the 
North  and  in  their  insistence  upon  proper  guarantees  of 
Southern  rights.  The  resolutions  were  scarcely  opposed  at 
all  in  the  Senate.    But  while  there  was  little  open  opposition 


130  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

it  was  only  because  no  Whig  wanted  thus  to  go  on  record. 
They  sought  in  many  ways  to  discredit  the  resolutions  and 
spread  the  report  that  if  they  were  passed  Badger  would  re- 
sign. It  is  needless  to  say  that  their  adoption  led  to  no 
such  result. 

These  purely  political  questions  having  been  settled,  let 
us  now  look  at  the  constructive  work  by  which  this  legisla- 
ture is  lest  known.  A  significant  fact  was  the  governor's 
devoting  his  entire  message  to  state  affairs.  He  again  recom- 
mended improvements  in  the  system  of  assessment  and  tax- 
ation, showing  conclusively  that  both  were  bad.  His  argu- 
ment for  internal  improvements  was  a  powerful  one.  In  it 
he  said : 

In  surveying  our  Territory,  with  an  eye  to  the  present  in- 
terests and  wants  of  the  people,  I  am  more  than  ever  im- 
pressed with  our  destitution  of  facilities  for  cheap  and  speedy 
transportation.  In  this  regard,  however  unpleasant  may  be 
the  admission,  I  am  forced  to  the  conviction,  that  we  labor 
under  greater  disadvantages  than  any  State  in  the  Union. 
And  we  never  can  be  equal  competitors  with  their  citizens 
in  our  agriculture,  the  predominant  pursuit  among  us,  until 
these  disadvantages  are  in  a  great  degree  overcome.  The 
man  who  is  obliged  to  transport  in  wagons  over  no  better 
roads  than  ours,  a  distance  varying  from  60  to  250  miles,  at 
the  speed  of  25  miles  per  day,  can  no  more  contend  for  profits 
with  him  who  has  the  advantage  of  railroads  or  good  naviga- 
tion, than  can  the  spinning  wheel  with  the  cotton  mill.  Had 
we  ever  been  in  a  more  favorable  situation  in  this  respect,  and 
had  the  impediments  which  now  beset  us  been  imposed  by 
human  powers,  no  sacrifice  would  be  esteemed  too  great  to 
effect  our  deliverance  and  restore  our  prosperity. 

His  general  argument  contained  a  recommendation  for  a 
road  from  Raleigh  to  Charlotte  by  way  of  Salisbury,  the  bene- 
fits of  which  he  stated  as  follows : 

It  is  commended  to  us  as  a  great  North  Carolina  improve- 
ment, appealing  to  our  interest  and  State  pride,  by  argu- 
ments which  it  were  almost  criminal  to  overlook.     First,  it 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  131 

would  open  to  the  market  of  the  world  an  extensive  region 
of  the  State,  reaching  from  the  Capitol  almost  to  the  Blue 
Ridge,  of  great  fertility  and  capacity  for  indefinite  improve- 
ment, by  reason  of  its  agricultural,  mineral,  and  manufac- 
turing resources;  containing  in  the  counties  within  25  miles 
of  the  most  direct  route,  more  than  230,000  souls;  and  within 
50  miles,  more  than  one-half  of  our  whole  population,  who 
are  far  removed  from  places  of  trade,  and  dependent  entirely 
on  the  common  wagon  and  common  road  for  all  their  trans- 
portation. The  occasion  will  not  permit  me  to  dwell  on  its 
numberless  benefits  in  this  regard,  which  will  readily  occur 
to  any  one  who  looks  on  the  map  of  the  State,  with  the  eye 
of  a  statesman  and  patriot.  Second,  it  would  add  incalcula- 
bly to  the  business  and  value  of  one  at  least,  (and  ultimately 
of  both)  of  our  present  railroads  in  which  the  State  has  so 
deep  an  interest,  and  make  them  productive  stocks.  Third, 
it  would  unite  the  middle  and  eastern  with  the  western  sec- 
tion' of  the  State,  in  a  domestic  trade  and  exchange  of  pro- 
ductions too  cumbersome  for  the  present  mode  of  conveyance 
beside  facilitating  travel  for  health  and  social  intercourse. 
Fourth,  by  running  over  the  most  practicable  routes  from 
Raleigh  to  Salisbury,  and  thence  turning  southwestward  to 
Charlotte,  it  would  bisect  the  State  for  more  than  a  hundred 
miles,  bringing  the  most  remote  on  either  side  within  50 
miles  of  the  railroad,  and  would  be  in  a  favorable  location  for 
being  extended  still  further  west,  from  the  former  places, 
and  to  connect  advantageously  by  means  of  turnpike  roads 
with  the  northwestern  part  of  our  territory. 

He  also  thought  that  later  branches  might  be  built  to  Golds- 
boro  and  Fayetteville  and  that  the  road  might  buy  the  Ral- 
eigh and  Gaston  road.  Concerning  the  crying  shame  of  the 
State's  lack  of  care  for  the  insane  he  urged  reform.  Miss 
Dix  was  at  this  time  in  the  State  and  had  lately  been  travel- 
ling over  it.     Of  her  he  said : 

A  distinguished  person  of  the  gentler  sex,  who  has  devoted 
much  of  her  life  to  the  pious  duty  of  pleading  the  cause  of  the 
lunatic,  before  States  and  communities,  has  recently  travers- 
ed a  considerable  part  of  this  State  in  search  of  information 
respecting  these  unfortunates  among  us,  and  will  probably 


132  James  Spbunt  Historical  Publications 

ask  leave  to  present  their  case  to  you  at  an  early  date.  I 
cannot  too  earnestly  commend  the  cause  itself,  or  the  disinter- 
ested benevolence  of  its  advocate. 

Before  taking  up  the  railroad  legislation  it  is  well  to 
mention  that  the  first  bill  passed  by  the  legislature  was  the 
one  creating  the  State  Hospital  for  the  Insane.  Miss  Dix, 
accompanied  by  Governor  Swain,  was  heard  by  the  legisla- 
ture, a  fact  rather  remarkable  in  North  Carolina  of  that  day, 
but  the  bill  failed  to  pass  its  second  reading.  It  was  later 
reconsidered  upon  motion  of  James  C.  Dobbin,  fresh  from  the 
death-bed  of  his  wife  and  fulfilling  her  dying  request,  who 
made  the  great  speech  of  the  session  and  won  the  day,  the  bill 
passing  by  a  vote  of  101  to  10.  Provision  was  made  for  the 
erection  of  a  first  rate  building  and  a  special  tax  was  levied 
on  land  and  poll  for  the  space  of  four  years  to  pay  for  it. 

With  the  passage  of  this  bill  the  friends  of  progress 
drew  a  breath  of  relief.  There  was  reason;  its  passage  was 
really  epochal  in  the  State's  history.  It  had  no  real  connec- 
tion with  the  railroad  measures,  but  it  had  a  very  important 
effect  upon  them.  Up  to  this  time  the  proposition  for  a  cen- 
tral railroad  had  gained  little  ground,  the  chief  reason  being 
that  the  Charlotte  and  South  Carolina  Railroad  had  offered 
to  run  their  line  from  Charlotte  to  Danville  with  only  a 
"naked"  charter  without  state  aid  of  any  sort.  Quite  natu- 
rally the  members  of  the  legislature  from  Mecklenburg  to 
Rockingham  were  all  in  favor  of  the  project  which  was  in 
the  immediate  charge  of  John  W.  Ellis,  who  introduced  the 
bill.  The  chief  opposition  came  from  Edward  Stanly,  who 
occupied  a  very  strong  position  in  the  entire  discussion,  since 
his  section  was  not  directly  affected  by  any  of  the  measures 
proposed,  but  who  strongly  favored  any  system  which  would 
build  up  North  Carolina.  He  announced  his  intention  of 
fighting  the  "Danville  Connection"  which  he  called  the  "Dan- 
ville Sale."  "But,"  said  he,  "the  friends  of  this  South 
Carolina  and  Virginia  bondage  were  not  to  blame  so  long  as 
the  North  Carolina  Assembly  failed  to  give  her  people  a  real 


Pakty  Politics  in  North  Carolina  133 

North  Carolina  system.     This  failing,  I,  too,  go  for  Dan- 
ville." 

A  bill  embodying  Governor  Graham's  plan  had  been  in- 
troduced but  had  apparently  no  possible  chance  of  passing. 
As  soon  as  the  hospital  bill  was  passed  the  calendar  was 
crowded  with  bills  for  canals,  plank  roads,  turnpikes,  short 
line  railroads,  law  reforms,  rights  of  married  women,  and 
every  conceivable  thing,  but  no  one  dared  to  champion  a  com- 
plete central  system  until  W.  S.  Ashe  undertook  to  formulate 
a  bill.  Ignoring  their  Raleigh  and  Gaston  project  and  paying 
as  little  attention  to  Beaufort  Harbor  and  Ducktown  copper, 
the  bill  provided  for  the  subscription  by  the  State  for  $2,000,- 
000  of  the  total  $3,000,000  stock  in  the  North  Carolina  Rail- 
road to  run  from  Goldsboro  to  Charlotte.  The  bill  was  in- 
troduced but  it  made  no  progress  until  the  friends  of  the 
Danville  Connection  renewed  the  fight.  But  Ellis  had  been 
elected  a  judge  and  his  leadership  was  missed.  Finally 
Stanly,  who  had  been  taunting  the  advocates  of  the  bill,  said 
that  they  had  sold  out  to  Virginia  and  South  Carolina,  refer- 
ring to  Richmond  as  only  a  "Great  Slave  Mart,"  and  to 
Charleston  as  "surviving  solely  on  pretensions."  Rufus  Bar- 
ringer  then  offered  to  throw  the  strength  of  the  Danville  Con- 
nection to  any  bill  which  provided  for  a  general  North  Caro- 
lina system.  The  offer  was  accepted,  the  Danville  Connec- 
tion bill  was  tabled  and  the  bill  embodying  Graham's  sug- 
gestions and  which  had  a  favorable  place  on  the  calendar, 
was  amended  by  substituting  after  the  enacting  clause  the 
Ashe  bill.  It  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  49  to  56,  but  re- 
considered, and,  on  January  18,  1849,  passed  by  a  vote  of 
60  to  52.  Barringer  tells  the  rest  of  the  story  better  than 
anyone  of  this  generation  could.    Said  he : 

The  chances  in  the  Senate  were  all  in  doubt.  That  body 
was  Democratic ;  and  up  to  this  time,  no  special  effort  had 
been  made  to  draw  the  old  ship  from  its  Jefferson ian  moor- 
ings. And  such  men  as  Henry  W.  Conner,  John  H.  Drake, 
A.  B.  Hawkins,  John  Berry,  George  Bower,  W.  D.  Bethel, 
George  W.  Thompson,  and  John  Walker  were  hard  to  lead 


134  James  Spruit  Historical  Publications 

and  could  not  be  driven.  And  above  them  all  sat  Speaker 
Calvin  Graves,  a  recognized  force  from  a  county  just  under 
the  nose  of  Danville,  and  devoted  to  Richmond.  The  speaker 
was  tall,  angular,  and  singularly  ugly  in  feature;  but  his 
character  was  high;  he  was  strictly  impartial,  and  with  all 
courtesy  in  bearing.  From  first  to  last  no  one  could  divine  a 
leaning  either  way.  But  now  a  mighty  effort  was  made  to 
teach  these  born  men  of  the  plow  and  of  the  people  a  new 
tenet  of  republican  faith,  an  awakening  to  what  the  State 
owed  the  public.  Judge  Romulus  M.  Saunders  and  W.  W. 
Holden  both  stepped  forward  and  made  strong  appeals  for 
the  new  departure.  But  all  to  no  purpose.  And  then  some 
of  the  Whigs,  left  out  by  the  Ashe  bill,  stood  aloof.  From 
these  and  other  causes,  it  was  seen  from  day  to  day,  in  all  the 
preliminary  skirmishes,  as  also  in  the  final  struggle,  the  re- 
sult would  be  very  close,  and  that  all  might  hang  on  the  "Bap- 
tist Enigma,"  Calvin  Graves. 

By  consent,  the  first  and  second  readings  were  chiefly 
formal,  to  get  the  measure  in  shape,  and  to  secure  all  sides 
and  parties  a  just  showing.  This  was  after  the  old  style, 
quiet  North  Carolina  way,  when,  as  a  hundred  years  before, 
Dissenters  and  Churchmen  were  alike  honoring  King,  Queen 
and  Royal  Governor  by  naming  towns,  counties  and  moun- 
tain peaks  after  them,  but  at  the  same  time,  solemnly  re- 
solved to  hurl  them  instantly  from  power  "if  they  did  not  do 
exactly  the  fair  thing."  So  here,  every  courtesy  was  shown 
opposing  parties  and  interests  until  January  25,  when  the 
bill  came  regularly  up,  after  full  debate,  and  was  put  on 
its  third  and  final  reading.  The  Senate  chamber  was  packed 
with  visitors  and  strangers  from  all  quarters  to  see  the  fate 
of  the  momentous  struggle,  now  so  full  of  weal  or  woe  to  the 
dear  "Old  North  State,"  and  which  might  settle  here  once 
for  all  the  mighty  effort  to  awake  North  Carolina  from  the 
long  sleep  of  her  death-like  "Rip-Van-Winkleism." 

Speaker  Graves  calmly  announced :  "The  bill  to  charter 
the  North  Carolina  Railroad  Company  and  for  other  pur- 
poses is  now  upon  its  third  reading.  Is  the  Senate  ready 
for  the  question  ?"  Feeble  responses  said,  "Question."  The 
roll  call  began ;  and  as  feared  nearly  every  Democrat  voted 
"No."     The  tally  was  kept  by  hundreds,  and  when  the  clerk 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  135 

announced  22  yeas  and  22  nays,  there  was  an  awful  silence. 
The  slender  form  of  Speaker  Graves  stood  up,  and  leaning 
slightly  forward,  with  gavel  in  hand,  he  said:  "The  vote  on 
the  bill  being  equal,  22  yeas  and  22  nays,  the  chair  votes 
'Yea.'    The  bill  has  passed  its  third  and  last  reading." 

The  railroad  and  hospital  bills  were  not  the  only  progres- 
sive measures  passed.  The  deaf  and  dumb  institution  was 
reorganized,  the  Fayetteville  and  Western  Plank  Road  Com- 
pany chartered  to  build  a  road  from  Fayetteville  to  Salisbury, 
the  State  taking  three-fifths  of  the  stock;  the  Raleigh  and 
Gaston  re-incorporated  with  a  provision  in  the  charter  that 
when  half  a  million  dollars  should  have  been  spent  on  the 
road  by  the  stockholders  it  should  be  released  from  all  liability 
to  the  State,  and  state  aid  was  given  for  an  extension  to 
Weldon ;  bonds  of  the  Wilmington  and  Raleigh  to  the  amount 
of  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  were  endorsed  ;  and  provision 
was  made  for  the  improvement  of  the  Cape  Fear  and  Deep 
Rivers  above  Fayetteville,  the  State  taking  stock  to  the 
amount  of  $40,000.  Other  legislation  worthy  of  note  were 
acts  protecting  the  property  rights  of  married  women,  revis- 
ing the  revenue  system,  laying  off  the  counties  of  Alamance, 
Watauga  and  Forsyth,  and  one  repealing  the  act  creating  the 
county  of  Polk.  The  growing  activity  of  the  abolitionists 
resulted  in  the  passage  of  an  act  making  the  stealing  of  a 
slave  or  the  enticement  of  one  to  leave  the  master  a  capital 
offense.  The  governor  was  instructed  to  issue  an  annual 
Thanksgiving  proclamation.  This  act  met  with  much  con- 
demnation from  many  of  the  Baptists  of  the  State,  who  de- 
clared it  the  beginning  of  a  union  of  Church  and  State. 

Surely  nothing  need  be  said  to  prove  that  the  State  had 
entered  upon  a  new  era.  Much  of  the  credit  for  the  awaken- 
ing must  be  given  to  Reid  and  his  free  suffrage  issue.  A 
state  issue  had  been  needed  for  years,  and  now  when  it  came, 
it  had  the  same  effect  that  the  reform  issue  of  the  thirties  had. 
The  State  was  shaken  from  Murphy  to  Manteo,  and  "Rip 
Van  Winkle"  was  at  last  awake. 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1850 

The  year  1849  in  North  Carolina,  as  elsewhere  in  the 
United  States,  was  one  of  shifting  political  opinion,  angry 
discission,  and  doubtful  and  uneasy  watching.  Slavery  was 
suddenly  the  theme  of  every  agitator,  North  and  South,  and 
to  many  thoughtful  patriots  it  seemed  as  if  the  sad  day  was 
really  approaching  when  the  Union  would  be  severed.  The 
congressional  elections  were  heatedly  contested,  but  the 
Whigs  retained  their  majority  of  the  delegation.  Clingman 
won  in  the  first  without  Democratic  opposition;  in  fact  he 
was  so  rapidly  coming  to  the  Democratic  position  that  the 
Whigs  were  his  most  likely  opponents.  Joseph  P.  Caldwell 
was  elected  in  the  second  over  Mr.  Hill,  a  Democrat,  who 
ran  without  party  nomination.  There  was  a  sharp  contest 
in  the  third  where  Green  W.  Caldwell,  the  Democratic  candi- 
date, faced  Alfred  Dockery,  Alexander  Little,  and  S.  P. 
Ingram.  His  chances  seemed  excellent  when  Edmund  De- 
berry  came  out  and  was  triumphantly  re-elected.  In  the 
fourth  A.  H.  Shepperd  was  again  returned,  defeating  Doctor 
Keen.  In  the  eighth  James  W.  Bryan  was  nominated  by  the 
Whigs,  but  soon  withdrew;  and  Edward  Stanly  took  his  place 
and  defeated  W.  K.  Lane.  In  the  ninth  David  Outlaw  de- 
feated Thomas  J.  Person.  The  three  Democratic  districts 
all  had  contests.  Henry  K.  Nash  tried  conclusions  with  A. 
W.  Venable  and  was  defeated.  W.  J.  Clarke,  a  Democrat, 
unsuccessfully  opposed  J.  P.  J.  Daniel  in  the  sixth,  and 
McKay,  declining  to  run  again  after  fourteen  years'  con- 
secutive service,  was  succeeded  by  W.  S.  Ashe  who  defeated 
David  Reid,  another  New  Hanover  Democrat. 

When  Congress  met,  the  attention  of  the  whole  State  was 
riveted  on  Washington.  But  while  Congress  was  discussing 
Clay's  proposed  compromise  there  was  considerable  interest 
in  political  quarters  in  the  various  Southern  proposals  that 
were  made  to  force  just  action.     In  the  press  the  line  was 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  137 

fairly  clear,  the  Democratic  papers,  headed  by  the  Standard, 
taking  the  position  that  there  should  be  official  action  by  the 
Southern  States  in  unison  to  oppose  anything  less  than  the 
full  demands  of  the  section,  while  the  Whig  press,  led  by  the 
Register,  opposed  such  action  and  favored  compromise  in 
Congress.  Individual  Whigs  in  large  numbers  took  the  full 
Southern  position  and  accepted  Democratic  leadership.  The 
proposed  Nashville  Convention  aroused  the  ire  of  the  Federal 
Whigs,  but  the  Democrats  almost  unanimously  endorsed  it. 
The  Democratic  papers  urged  Governor  Manly  to  call  a 
special  session  of  the  legislature  to  approve  the  plan  and 
elect  delegates,  or,  in  default  of  that,  to  call  the  council 
together  to  take  official  action  or  to  issue  a  proclamation  on 
the  subject.  He  would  not  consider  the  suggestions  and  the 
State  was  not  officially  represented  in  the  convention.  Al- 
most all  the  Whig  papers  denounced  it  as  a  disunion  gather- 
ing, the  Star  alone  insisting  that  it  had  a  most  worthy  pur- 
pose, and  thus  bringing  down  upon  itself  the  denunciation 
of  the  Register  and  the  Federal  Whigs.  Stanly  and  John 
Kerr  were  fiercely  denouncing  it  in  public  addresses,  while  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  the  State  so-called  Southern  Rights 
conventions  were  being  held  at  which  fiery  resolutions  were 
adopted  with  great  enthusiasm.  The  Whig  attitude  was 
caused  by  a  genuine  fear  of  anything  which  might  endanger 
the  Union.  "Certainly  not,"  wrote  Badger  to  Crittenden, 
"for  the  privilege  of  carrying  slaves  to  California,  or  of  keep- 
ing up  private  gaols  by  slave  dealers  in  this  district  [District 
of  Columbia]".  And  Badger  was  never  more  right.  He  and 
Mangum  exerted  an  important  influence  upon  the  passage 
of  the  Compromise  by  keeping  Webster  in  the  notion  of  his 
famous  Seventh  of  March  Speech  which  he  delivered  only 
because  of  their  urging  and  after  he  had  changed  his  mind 
several  times.  They  also  kept  him  in  line  in  the  later  voting. 
Mangum  was  not  on  particularly  good  terms  with  the  ad- 
ministration and  took  a  much  more  pronounced  Southern 
position  than  did  Badger.  But  the  latter's  speech  in  March 
on  the  slavery  question  satisfied  even  the  Standard  which 
was  ever  critical  of  his  opinions  and  actions. 


138  James  Sprtjnt  Historical  Publications 

The  votes  of  the  North  Carolina  delegation  in  Congress 
on  the  compromise  measure  were  somewhat  indicative  of  the 
lines  of  division  of  opinion.  No  vote  was  recorded  in  the 
Senate  on  the  Utah  or  Fugitive  Slave  bills.  Neither  Man- 
gum  nor  Badger  voted  on  the  California  Bill.  Both  voted 
against  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  and  both  voted  for  the  New  Mexico  Bill.  On 
the  Texas  Bill  Mangum  was  paired  with  no  indication  of  his 
preference  and  Badger  voted  affirmatively.  In  the  House, 
Ashe,  Caldwell,  Deberry,  Outlaw,  Shepperd,  and  Stanly 
voted  for  the  Utah  Bill  and  none  opposed  it.  Caldwell  and 
Stanly  voted  for  the  admission  of  California  and  Ashe, 
Clingman,  Daniel,  Deberry,  Outlaw,  Shepperd,  and  Venable 
voted  against  it.  Caldwell,  Deberry,  Outlaw,  Shepperd,  and 
Stanly  voted  for  the  New  Mexico  Bill  and  Ashe,  Clingman, 
Daniel  and  Venable,  against  it.  Every  member  of  the  dele- 
gation voted  for  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  Ashe,  Deberry, 
Caldwell,  Clingman,  Outlaw,  and  Venable  voted  against 
the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  in  the  District  and  none  of 
the  delegation  voted  for  it. 

The  address  to  the  Southern  people  issued  by  the  South- 
ern members  of  Congress  was  signed  by  Mangum,  Clingman, 
Venable,  and  Ashe.  Clingman  had  now  completely  lost  the 
support  of  the  Register  and  all  the  Federal  Whigs,  but  Demo- 
cratic sentiment  had  changed  in  the  same  ratio  as  that  of 
their  opponents  and  the  Standard  and  other  Democratic  pa- 
pers were  already  expressing  full  approval  of  his  views  of 
slavery  and  the  tariff.  His  relations  with  his  fellow  Whigs 
in  Congress  were  strained,  and  he  and  Stanly,  after  a  long 
period  of  ill-feeling,  finally  in  March  came  to  blows  in  the 
House.  Stanly  and  Inge  of  Alabama,  fought  a  duel  in 
February. 

Secession  sentiment  was  strong  in  certain  parts  of  the 
South  and  the  question  began  to  be  discussed  in  the  North 
Carolina  papers.  The  Standard  rather  featured  these  dis- 
cussions, taking  strong  ground  on  the  subject  in  defense  of 
the  abstract  right,  and  urging  the  possible  necessity.     This 


Paety  Politics  in  Nobth  Caeolina  139 

view  was  combatted  by  the  Whig  press,  and  in  August  Bad- 
ger attacked  the  theory  in  the  Senate  in  one  of  his  strongest 
speeches.  The  North  Carolina  Democrats  in  the  main  dis- 
liked the  compromise,  and  their  feeling  on  the  subject  di- 
rected their  thoughts  to  the  secession  question  though  there 
was  little  or  no  inclination  on  the  part  of  any  responsible 
person  in  the  State  to  resort  at  the  time  to  any  such  remedy. 

In  July,  William  A.  Graham  was  appointed  secretary 
of  the  navy  by  President  Fillmore.  This  position  and  that 
of  minister  to  Spain  were  all  that  the  North  Carolina  Whigs 
received  from  the  administration,  except  inside  the  State. 
Barringer  and  Stanly  were  aspirants  for  the  Spanish  post 
and  the  former  received  it.  It  was  hinted  at  the  time  that 
Mangum  was  also  casting  his  eye  in  the  same  direction,  but 
there  is  no  evidence  that  this  was  the  case  and  it  was  probably 
untrue.  In  the  State  there  was  a  clean  sweep  of  the  Demo- 
crats from  federal  office.  The  Whigs  had  claimed  in  the 
campaign  that  there  would  be  no  recourse  to  the  spoils  sys- 
tem, and  that  the  office  holders  would  remain  undisturbed 
unless  there  was  more  against  them  than  their  politics ;  but 
no  such  thing  was  possible  at  that  time  any  more  than  it  is 
to-day. 

The  state  campaign  had  been  eagerly  looked  forward  to 
by  the  Democrats  since  the  election  of  1848.  In  1849 
Holden  wrote  to  Reid  asking  him  to  be  a  candidate  asiain. 
Reid  consented  on  the  condition  that  he  should  not  be  requir- 
ed to  approve  the  Nashville  Convention  and  the  chartering  of 
the  North  Carolina  Railroad.  Holden  told  him  that  he  need 
not  commit  himself  on  either  question,  and  that  they  were 
both  outside  and  above  party.  In  1850  a  Democratic  caucus 
was  held  in  Raleigh  at  which  Reid  was  nominated.  John  S. 
Eaton  presided.  Asa  Biggs  offered  a  resolution  to  amend  the 
constitution  so  as  to  forbid  any  appropriation  for  internal 
improvements  unless  it  was  approved  by  the  people  at  the 
polls.  Intense  excitement  followed  with  threats  from  the 
friends  of  internal  improvements  of  breaking  up  the  party, 
and  Biggs  withdrew  his  motion.     After  this  there  was  scat- 


140  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

tered  Democratic  opposition  to  internal  improvements  but 
never  again  was  there  party  opposition. 

Reid's  name  recurred  in  the  resolutions  adopted  by  county 
meetings,  but  others  were  mentioned,  notably  James  C. 
Dobbin  in  the  East.  W.  F.  Leak  was  again  a  candidate  and 
was  now  willing  to  canvass  the  State.  There  was  really  quite 
a  good  deal  of  opposition  to  Reid  and  in  May  he  wrote  a 
public  letter  declining  to  run  again  because  the  party  was 
not  united  on  him.  In  the  letter  he  urged  free  suffrage  as 
the  issue  on  which  the  party  would  win.  No  Whig  candidate 
other  than  Manly  was  mentioned,  but  there  was  much  quiet 
opposition  to  him  in  the  party.  It  was  nevertheless  clear 
that  he  would  be  the  nominee. 

The  Whig  convention  met  on  June  10.  James  T.  More- 
head  presided.  The  convention  was  addressed  by  John  Kerr, 
then  making  quite  a  reputation  in  the  party  as  an  orator 
because  of  his  fiery  denunciation  of  the  Democrats  in  general 
and  Reid  in  particular  Henry  W.  Miller,  W.  H.  Rhodes, 
and,  after  his  nomination,  by  Manly,  who  paid  high  tribute 
to  the  so-called  "Raleigh  Clique"  of  Whigs,  saying  among 
other  things  that  "if  the  locofoco  city  of  Sodom  had  had  such 
a  group  it  would  have  been  saved."  This  expression  excited 
so  much  anger  among  the  Democrats  that  in  the  printed 
speech  it  was  changed.  The  platform  endorsed  the  princi- 
ples of  the  party,  expressed  devotion  for  the  Union,  and  de- 
manded an  adjustment  of  the  slavery  question.  It  also 
expressed  full  approval  of  the  compromise  measures  and 
gave  Taylor  a  hearty  endorsement.  On  the  question  of  free 
suffrage  it  "straddled"  as  it  did  on  a  new  Democratic  doc- 
trine which  some  of  the  Whigs  were  trying  to  seize,  namely, 
the  election  of  judges  by  the  people  for"  a  term  of  years.  On 
these  two  questions,  the  platform  said  the  sense  of  the  peo- 
ple should  be  taken  since  they  had  a  right  to  alter  the  funda- 
mental law  if  they  wished.  Manly  had  already  announced 
his  continued  opposition  to  the  change  of  system.  By  this 
plank  of  their  platform  the  Whigs  deprived  themselves  of 
any  possibility  of  united  action.     Their  adoption  of  it  was 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  141 

entirely  characteristic  of  the  party  which  found  it  difficult 
if  not  impossible  to  take  a  position  and  be  ready  to  fail  rather 
than  abandon  it. 

The  Democratic  convention  assembled  on  June  13. 
Thirty-eight  counties  had  delegates  present.  Asa  Biggs  was 
temporary  chairman  and  Robert  Strange  president.  Speeches 
were  made  by  R.  M.  Saunders,  W.  J.  Clarke,  Duncan  K. 
McRae,  and  James  G-.  Shepherd.  Reid  was  unanimously 
nominated.  The  platform  condemned  Taylor's  administra- 
tion, expressed  devotion  to  the  Union,  the  existence  of  which 
it  declared  threatened  by  the  situation  in  national  affairs. 
Declining  to  concede  the  right  of  Congress  to  legislate  on 
slavery  in  the  territories,  it  expressed  the  willingness  of  the 
party  to  abide  by  the  terms  and  spirit  of  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise. It  closed  with  a  strong  declaration  for  free  suf- 
frage and  the  popular  election  of  judges  for  a  term  of  years. 
This  last  change  had  first  been  urged  in  the  State  by  Holden 
in  the  Standard  and  had  met  with  considerable  favor  with 
both  parties.  Reid  accepted  the  nomination  and  immediately 
issued  an  address  to  the  people  of  the  State  in  which  he  dis- 
cussed the  issues  in  a  bold,  straightforward  way.  He  and 
Manly  opened  the  campaign  at  Wentworth  on  June  29  and 
continued  it  actively  until  just  before  the  election. 

A  considerable  number  of  Whig  papers  declined  to  sup- 
port Manly  because  of  his  opposition  to  free  suffrage,  some  of 
them  going  so  far  as  to  raise  Reid's  name  as  their  candidate. 
The  tide  was  so  clearly  and  so  strongly  setting  in  favor  of  the 
amendment  that  Manly,  seeing  that  his  continued  opposition 
would  certainly  defeat  him,  wavered.  Canvassing  the  West 
he  practically  yielded  the  point  and  attempted  to  restore 
the  failing  fortunes  of  his  party  by  bringing  forward  as  a 
necessary  accompaniment  of  free  suffrage  the  change  of  the 
basis  of  representation  from  federal  to  free  white.  This  was 
exceedingly  popular  with  the  western  Whigs,  but  in  the  East 
it  produced  a  storm.  It  also  aroused  the  fears  of  the  strong 
pro-slavery  advocates  who  saw,  or  pretended  to  see,  in  it  a 
great  menace  to  the  South.     They  declared  that  the  passage 

10 


142  James  Spkunt  Historical  Publications 

of  such  an  amendment  by  a  Southern  State  would  not  only 
encourage  the  anti-slavery  forces  but  would  actually  seal  the 
doom  of  the  South.  Reid  on  the  stump  made  it  clear  that  the 
two  propositions  had  no  connection. 

Every  possible  charge  was  brought  against  Reid,  most 
of  them  false  and  known  to  be  so.  An  amusing  incident  was 
the  attempt  of  Manly  who  was  a  staunch  Episcopalian,  to 
arouse  the  hostility  of  the  Baptists  against  Reid,  who  was 
himself  a  devoted  Baptist,  because  in  the  legislature  he  had 
voted  against  the  State's  making  a  loan  to  Wake  Forest  Col- 
lege. Manly  also  accused  him  repeatedly  of  having  voted 
for  the  Wilmot  Proviso  although  Reid  was  not  a  member  of 
Congress  when  it  was  brought  up.  When  forced  to  the  wall 
he  would  answer  that  Reid  had  voted  for  the  Oregon  Bill 
which  was  the  same  thing,  and  at  the  next  opportunity  he 
would  make  his  original  statement.  This  was  also  a  favorite 
ground  of  attack  by  the  Register. 

The  presence  and  activity  of  two  Wesleyan  Methodist  ab- 
olitionist ministers  in  Guilford  County  during  the  campaign 
aroused  the  anger  of  the  pro-slavery  element,  and  the  failure 
of  the  grand  jury  of  Guilford  to  find  a  true  bill  against  them 
served  to  increase  the  feeling. 

Manly  never  had  a  chance  during  the  whole  campaign 
and  the  election  was  only  a  confirmation  of  the  expectation 
of  every  one.  Reid's  majority  in  a  vote  of  88,019  was  3,345. 
In  the  legislature  the  Democrats  had  a  majority  of  four  in 
the  Senate  and  ten  in  the  House  of  Commons.  In  state 
affairs  the  day  of  the  Whig  party  was  done.  How  gracefully 
the  result  was  received  by  an  element  in  the  party,  by  no 
means  small,  can  be  seen  from  the  following  editorial  of  the 
Register.  It  serves  also  to  explain  in  part  why  the  party 
had  fallen  upon  evil  days : 

There  can  be  but  little,  or  no  doubt,  therefore,  that 
David  S.  Reid  is  elected  governor  of  North  Carolina.  How 
does  that  sound  to  Whig  ears — to  the  ears  of  those  Whigs 
who  have  fixed  upon  our  good  old  State  for  the  first  time 
since  the  amendment  of  the  Constitution,  the  burning  re- 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  143 

proach  of  having   a  locofoco   Governor,    and   the   indelible 
disgrace  of  having  chosen  such  a  Chief  Executive  officer. 

Some  Whig  papers,  notably  the  Greensboro  Patriot,  how- 
ever, were  more  generous,  as  well  as  more  sensible,  and 
showed  a  better  feeling. 

The  legislature  organized  by  the  election  of  Weldon  1ST. 
Edwards  as  speaker  of  the  Senate  over  Andrew  Joyner  and 
James  C.  Dobbin  as  speaker  of  the  House  over  Kenneth 
Rayner.  An  unusual  thing  about  the  membership  was  the 
presence  of  seven  ex-congressmen,  R.  M.  Saunders,  Kenneth 
Rayner,  William  H.  Washington,  William  B.  Shepard,  W. 
K  Edwards,  Green  W.  Caldwell,  and  J.  C.  Dobbin.  The 
Democrats  were  determined  to  have  a  party  organization  of 
both  houses  and  so  followed  the  example  set  by  the  Whigs  in 
1846  and  gave  their  opponents  only  a  doorkeeper.  When 
the  election  of  state  officers  came  they  were  more  liberal  and 
re-elected  Mr.  Hill  secretary  of  state.  But  C.  L.  Hinton  was 
replaced  as  treasurer  by  D.  W.  Courts,  and  W.  E.  Collins  as 
comptroller  by  W.  J.  Clarke.  The  desire  of  many  Demo- 
crats for  a  districting  of  the  State  for  members  of  Congress 
was  not  gratified  since  the  party  leaders  deemed  it  unwise, 
in  view  of  the  important  matters  before  the  legislature,  such 
as  the  free  suffrage  amendment,  for  which  Whig  votes  were 
necessary  to  stir  up  any  more  party  feeling  than  was  neces- 
sary. In  addition,  a  new  apportionment  was  almost  due  un- 
der the  census  of  1850,  and  they  thought  it  best  to  wait. 

The  legislature  spent  a  large  part  of  its  time  in  discussing 
the  slavery  question,  and  mingled  with  this  came  inevitably 
renewed  discussion  of  secession.  Evidence  of  the  new  feel- 
ing present  in  the  State  was  the  appointment  of  a  new  joint 
committee  on  federal  relations. 

Early  in  the  session,  William  B.  Shepard  introduced  a 
series  of  resolutions  in  which  after  declaring  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  a  compromise  of  conflicting  inter- 
ests and  that  whenever  its  provisions  were  so  perverted  or 
enlarged  as  to  cause  it  to  fail  to  secure  its  objects  to  even  the 
weakest  member,  it  ceased  to  be  the  Constitution  to  become 


144  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

the  creature  of  a  dominant  majority,  alien  in  interest  to  the 
oppressed,  there  occurred  the  following  statement: 

Resolved,  That  although  we  love  the  Union  of  the  States 
and  view  its  destruction  as  a  great  calamity,  we  nevertheless 
regard  the  right  to  secede  from  it  as  a  right  of  self-defense 
and  protection,  which  the  people  of  North  Carolina  have 
never  surrendered,  and  never  can  surrender  with  due  regard 
to  their  own  safety  and  welfare,  and  that  whenever  a  majority 
of  the  people  of  North  Carolina  shall  solemnly  resolve  that 
they  cannot  safely  remain  in  the  Union,  it  is  not  only  their 
right,  but  it  is  their  duty  to  secede,  and  to  punish  such  of  her 
citizens  as  refuse  submission  to  her  will  as  rebels  and  traitors. 

Resolved,  That  whilst  we  claim  the  right  of  secession  as  a 
right  reserved  to  the  people,  and  not  surrendered  by  the  Con- 
stitution, we  believe  it  to  be  an  extreme  remedy,  and  one 
which  should  not  be  resorted  to  unless  all  means  to  preserve 
the  Union  and  to  protect  the  property  and  insure  the  welfare 
of  the  people,  have  manifestly  failed. 

Resolved,  That  the  fugitive  slave  bill  lately  passed  by 
Congress  is  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the  Consti- 
tution, and  that  its  repeal  or  any  alteration  tending  to  im- 
pede an  owner  of  a  slave  from  retaking  his  property,  will  be 
regarded  as  undoubted  and  sufficient  evidence  that  a  majority 
of  Congress  was  unrestrained  by  the  express  provisions  of  the 
Constitution,  and  that  the  time  has  arrived  when  it  becomes 
the  duty  of  the  people  of  North  Carolina  to  decide  whether 
they  will  submit  to  an  unlimited  Government,  or  will  resist 
its  encroachments  boldly  and  effectually. 

They  further  declared  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  United 
States  to  protect  property  in  slaves  and  denied  its  right  to 
prevent  slavery  in  the  territories,  and  declaring  that  the  ad- 
mission of  California  was  an  injustice  to  the  South,  they 
invited  the  other  slave  States  to  make  common  cause  with 
North  Carolina  in  demanding  adequate  protection.  These 
were  debated  with  great  heat  for  a  large  part  of  the  session 
and  called  forth  a  number  of  very  able  speeches,  the  two 
most  notable  being  those  of  Shepard  himself  in  the  Senate 
and  Dobbin  in  the  House.     Of  the  two  the  former's  was  the 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  145 

most  logical  and  the  latter' s  was  the  most  eloquent.  "He  took 
the  ground  boldly  that  the  States  are  sovereign;  that  they 
have  a  right  to  judge  of  infractions  of  the  Constitution,  and 
of  the  mode  and  measure  of  redress — in  a  word  that  a  State 
in  the  last  resort  has  a  right  to  secede  from  the  Union  and 
take  care  of  her  own  interest  and  honor."  He  declared  the 
right  of  secession  not  a  "constitutional"  right,  but  a  "re- 
served" one,  but  one  that  never  ought  to  be  exercised  except 
in  the  last  resort.  "Much  should  be  borne  for  the  sake  of 
the  Union,  for  the  day  of  its  dissolution  will  be  the  darkest 
day  for  human  liberty  the  world  has  ever  seen."  The  reso- 
lutions were  finally  defeated  in  the  Senate  by  a  vote  of  31  to 
16,  14  Democrats  and  two  Whigs  voting  for  and  10  Demo- 
crats and  21  Whigs  against  them.  In  the  House  the  same 
resolutions  were  discussed  in  the  committee  of  the  whole 
but  never  came  to  a  vote. 

Governor  Manly' s  message  was  a  long  and  able  document. 
It  contained  an  earnest  plea  for  the  Union  and  a  long  and 
elaborate  discussion  of  the  question  of  constitutional  amend- 
ment which  showed  plainly  that  the  Governor  was  still  op- 
posed to  change. 

Both  houses  passed  strong  anti-protective  tariff  resolu- 
tions by  large  majorities,  Whigs  joining  with  Democrats  in 
the  condemnation  of  what  they  rightly  termed  sectional 
legislation. 

Another  proposition  exciting  considerable  attention  was 
one  to  repeal  the  charter  of  the  North  Carolina  Railroad. 
This  was  debated  for  some  time  and  then  postponed  indefin- 
itely by  a  vote  of  80  to  36. 

Naturally  the  greatest  interest  of  the  members  was  in 
the  question  of  amendment.  The  committee  rejected  popular 
election  of  judges  and  several  other  amendments,  including 
one  to  forbid  appropriations  by  the  legislature  for  internal 
improvements  unless  they  were  approved  by  the  people,  but 
reported  favorably  one  for  free  suffrage.  The  popular  elec- 
tion of  judges  came  up  again  before  the  houses  but  was 
rejected  by  both. 


146  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

The  resolution  for  free  suffrage  passed  the  House  by  a 
vote  of  75  to  36  and  when  it  reached  the  Senate  was  rejected, 
the  required  majority  failing,  three-fifths  being  required 
for  the  first  legislature  and  two-thirds  for  the  second.  The 
Whigs  in  the  main  were  opposed  and  the  Register  exultantly 
proclaimed  after  its  failure:  "Free  suffrage  lies  among  the 
slain."  Most  of  the  party,  being  politic  and  knowing  the 
sentiment  of  the  mass  of  the  people,  were  not  so  open  in 
their  rejoicing.  Another  bill  at  once  passed  the  House,  89 
to  24,  and  this  probably  had  some  effect  for  the  Senate  re- 
considered and  passed  the  original  33  to  17.  Throughout 
the  debates  the  Whigs  sought  in  every  way  to  obscure  the 
issue  and  finally  centered  their  opposition  on  the  method  and 
advocated  a  free  and  open  convention  elected  on  the  same 
basis  as  the  House  of  Commons.  A  bill  to  take  the  sense  of 
the  opinion  on  this  proposition,  introduced  by  a  Democrat, 
passed  the  House  67  to  40  and  was  defeated  in  the  Senate. 
This  greatly  alarmed  the  eastern  Whigs  who  feared  an  at- 
tempt to  adopt  the  white  basis  of  representation.  After  the 
adjournment  of  the  legislature,  thirty-six  Whig  members 
joined  in  an  address  to  the  people  on  the  subject  of  constitu- 
tional reform,  urging  a  convention  as  the  proper  method. m 
This  thus  committed  a  part  of  the  party  to  opposition  to  the 
pending  amendment,  and  made  the  convention  an  issue  for 
the  next  campaign. 

In  spite  of  the  time  consumed  by  the  discussions  referred 
to,  the  session  was  not  unproductive.  One  hundred  and 
ninety-two  public  laws  and  twenty-nine  public  resolutions 
were  passed  besides  a  mass  of  private  legislation.  Among 
the  more  important  laws  were  those  creating  a  geological 
and  agricultural  survey,  chartering  many  railroads,  turn- 
pikes, and  navigation  companies,  and  laying  off  the  counties 
of  Jackson,  Madison  and  Yadkin. 

The  following  resolution  which  was  adopted  by  large 
majority  is  interesting  for  the  light  it  throws  upon  the 
temper  of  the  members : 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  147 

Whereas  a  message  has  recently  been  transmitted  to  the 
Senate  by  his  Excellency  David  S.  Reid,  inclosing  "resolu- 
tions for  the  promotion  of  peace"  forwarded  by  the  Governor 
of  Vermont,  as  having  passed  the  Legislature  of  that  State; 
and  whereas  the  Legislature  of  the  said  State  has  recently 
passed  an  act  for  the  nullification  of  an  act  of  Congress, 
passed  at  its  last  session,  on  which  the  peace  and  harmony 
of  this  Union  mainly  depend ;  Therefore, 

Be  it  resolved,  That  the  Governor  of  this  State  be  re- 
quested to  send  back  to  the  Governor  of  Vermont  the  afore- 
said "resolutions  for  the  promotion  of  peace"  with  the  declar- 
ation that  North  Carolina  knows  too  well  what  is  due  to  her- 
self to  receive  from  a  sister  State  resolutions  of  that  charac- 
ter, when  the  State  so  adopting  and  transmitting  them,  has 
been  the  first  in  the  Confederacy  to  assume  to  herself  the 
right  of  violating  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and 
bringing  into  jeopardy  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  Union. 

The  congressional  campaign  of  1851  in  most  of  the  States 
was  largely  devoted  to  the  discussion  of  the  Compromise  of 
1850.  In  North  Carolina  this  was  the  case  in  several  of  the 
districts,  but  in  three  the  question  of  secession  was  made  the 
issue  by  the  Whig  candidates,  two  of  whom  were  successful. 
Mangum,  Shepperd,  Deberry,  Outlaw,  and  Caldwell  signed 
the  pledge  to  support  no  man  for  office  who  did  not  favor 
the  compromise.  By  this  time  the  Democrats  had  grudg- 
ingly accepted  it  so  there  could  not  be  much  of  an  issue  made 
of  it. 

In  the  first  district  Clingman  ran  as  a  Southern  Rights 
Whig  and  defeated  Burgess  S.  Gaither  who  accused  Cling- 
man of  secession  tendencies  and  spent  much  of  his  time  de- 
nouncing South  Carolina  for  its  attitude  and  declaring  that 
if  elected  he  would  vote  for  the  use  of  force  to  check  seces- 
sion there.  In  the  second,  J.  P.  Caldwell  was  elected  with- 
out opposition.  In  the  third,  secession  was  the  subject  of  the 
whole  campaign.  Green  W.  Caldwell  was  nominated  by  the 
Democrats  and  Alfred  Dockery  opposed  him,  breathing  fire 
and  brimstone  against  South  Carolina,  and  was  triumphantly 


148  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

elected.  James  T.  Morehead  was  elected  without  opposition 
in  the  fourth.  A.  W.  Venable  was  elected  in  the  fifth  over 
Calvin  Graves  who  was  supported  by  the  Whigs  as  a  "Union" 
Democrat.  J.  R.  J.  Daniel  was  chosen  in  the  sixth  over 
Henry  W.  Miller.  W.  S.  Ashe  had  no  opposition  in  the 
seventh.  Edward  Stanly  made  secession  the  issue  in  the 
eighth  and  defeated  Thomas  Ruffm  of  Wayne.  In  the  ninth 
David  Outlaw  was  re-elected,  defeating  W.  F.  Martin,  a 
Democrat.  The  Northern  papers  followed  the  campaigns  of 
G-aither,  Dockery,  and  Stanly  with  much  interest,  particu- 
larly that  of  Stanly,  whose  election  was  hailed  in  the  North 
as  a  great  Union  victory.  When  Congress  met  he  received 
twenty-one  votes  for  speaker,  all  from  the  North,  except  that 
cast  by  Dockery,  and  most  of  them  from  New  England.  They 
were  of  course  due  to  his  widely  heralded  opposition  to 
slavery  and  secession. 

Such  campaigns  were  naturally  not  unnoticed  in  the 
State.  The  Whig  press  made  every  Democratic  candidate 
a  disunionist  in  addition  to  being  a  demagogue.  The  Demo- 
cratic press  saw  in  every  Whig  candidate  a  submissionist  who 
cared  nothing  for  the  interest  or  honor  of  his  State  and  sec- 
tion. The  Register  and  Fayetteville  Observer  more  than 
ever  were  slanderous  in  their  comment.  The  Whig  pa- 
pers carefully  avoided  being  forced  to  give  their  real  opin- 
ions as  to  secession  as  a  principle,  but^  no  such  caution 
animated  the  Democratic  papers,  particularly  the  Stand- 
ard which  was  the  chief  defender  of  the  right  of  secession, 
though  it  did  not  advocate  invoking  it  now.  Its  belief  is 
best  expressed  in  the  following  contemporary  editorial: 

We  have  heard  the  idea  recently  expressed  that  a  State 
has  no  right  to  secede  from  the  Union — that  there  is  no  help 
from  oppression  except  by  revolution;  in  other  words,  that 
the  States  are  the  creatures  and  dependents  of  the  Federal 
Government  and,  of  course,  subject  to  its  physical  coercion. 
Such  an  assumption,  we  humbly  submit,  is  unsupported  by 
any  testimony  derived  from  the  Constitution  itself  or  any 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  149 

single  circumstance  attending  its  foundation  or  adoption. 
It  is,  moreover,  at  war  with  all  regular  ideas  of  free  repub- 
lican Government  and  the  undoubted  independence  of  the 
States,  as  that  independence  has  been  displayed  in  their 
separate  organizations  since  1787.  We  hold  that  as  no  State 
could  originally  have  been  forced  into  the  Union,  none  can  be 
forced  in  or  rather  prevented  from  going  out. 


y 


CHAPTEE  XIII 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1852 

The  campaign  of  1852  loomed  large  in  advance  to  both 
parties.  The  Democrats  ardently  desired  to  hold  their  ad- 
vantage and  to  prove  to  the  Whigs  and  to  themselves  that 
it  was  not  merely  accidental  and  temporary ;  the  Whigs  with 
equal  longing  hoped  to  regain  their  lost  position  and  prestige, 
to  have  again  in  possession  the  government  of  the  State  for 
which  they  had  come  to  feel  that  they  had  a  title  in  fee  sim- 
ple, and  the  snatching  away  of  which  by  the  Democrats 
they  had  not  ceased  to  regard  not  only  as  high  handed  pre- 
sumption, but  actual  robbery  without  shadow  of  legality. 
Then,  too,  the  next  legislature  was  a  particularly  important 
one,  since  upon  it  would  fall  the  responsibility  of  redisrict- 
ing the  State  for  the  two  houses  for  the  next  twenty  years,  and 
for  Congress  for  the  next  decade.  A  United  States  senator 
was  to  be  elected  to  succeed  Mangum,  and  the  free  suffrage 
amendment  was  to  be  passed  on  for  final  submission  to  the 
people.  Naturally  both  sides  were  determined  to  use  all 
their  energy  and  thought  to  win. 

The  Whig  convention  met  late  in  April  and  its  character 
was  not  such  as  to  raise  the  hopes  of  the  party,  since  but  few 
of  the  well  known  leaders  of  the  party  were  present  and  since 
there  was  a  marked  lack  of  the  unity  and  confidence  charac- 
teristic of  the  victorious  past.  John  Winslow  was  temporary 
chairman  and  F.  B.  Satterthwaite  was  president.  Thirty- 
eight  counties  were  represented.  Speeches  were  made  by  Dr. 
F.  J.  Hill,  H.  W.  Miller,  H.  K  Nash,  Joseph  Banks,  E.  E. 
Troy,  E.  I.  Wynne,  J.  G.  McDugald,  and  John  Winslow. 
A.  H.  Sheppard,  F.  J.  Hill,  H.  K.  Nash,  and  H.  W.  Miller 
were  elected  delegates  to  the  national  convention.  The  plat- 
form endorsed  Fillmore  and  Graham  for  the  nominations, 
but  declared  willingness  to  support  any  nominee  who  favored 
complete  acceptance  and  support  of  the  compromise.  It 
opposed  intervention,  condemed  the  legislation  of  Congress 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  151 

in  regard  to  public  lands,  and  declared  the  purpose  of  the 
party  to  resist  all  efforts  to  alienate  the  sections  and  thus 
weaken  the  Union.  On  constitutional  reform  the  party 
still  "straddled,"  declaring  that  if  constitutional  changes  were 
to  be  made  that  they  favored  an  open  convention,  chosen  on 
the  basis  of  the  Commons,  if  the  people  wanted  it.  This 
was  merely  an  attempt  to  stave  off  free  suffrage,  or  equal 
suffrage,  as  it  was  now  generally  called,  without  taking  an 
open  and  definite  stand  against  it.  They  were  well  aware 
that  there  was  small  likelihood  of  a  convention's  being 
called  in  North  Carolina,  and  it  was  one  of  the  last  things 
that  the  party  as  a  whole  desired,  but  the  very  hopelessness  of 
securing  one,  made  the  demand  an  eminently  safe  one  and 
the  very  best  block  to  the  passage  of  the  suffrage  amendment, 
and  at  the  same  time  they  could  boast  of  a  democratic  spirit 
in  making  the  demand. 

There  had  been  comparatively  little  discussion  of  a  can- 
diate  for  governor,  and  there  was  really  a  wide  division  of 
opinion  as  to  the  sort  of  candidate  that  should  be  chosen. 
The  Greensboro  Patriot  had  demanded  that  the  convention 
should  take  a  definite  stand  on  the  suffrage  question  and  that 
it  should  nominate  a  man  of  decided  and  well-known  views 
on  the  question.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Register  said  the 
convention  should  select  the  party  candidate  without  refer- 
ence to  his  views  on  state  reform  or  state  questions  generally. 
It  was  fairly  safe  to  predict  that  the  latter  view  would  pre- 
vail. Shortly  before  the  convention  Alfred  Dockery  made  a 
public  announcement  that  he  could  not  accept  the  nomination 
if  it  should  be  offered  to  him.  It  was  clear,  really,  by  this 
time,  that  John  Kerr  would  be  the  choice  of  the  convention. 
He  was  well  known  in  the  party,  had  a  considerable  reputa- 
tion as  a  stump  speaker,  and  was  well  thought  of  by  the  group 
of  Raleigh  leaders,  the  "Raleigh  Clique,"  which  controlled 
the  party.  He  was  nominated  unanimously.  Kerr  was  born 
in  Pittsylvania  County,  Virginia,  in  1811,  and  was  educated 
in  Virginia.  He  studied  law  under  Judge  Pearson  and 
settled  in  Caswell  County  where  he  had  many  relatives  and 


152  James  Sprttnt  Historical  Publications 

where  he  developed  quite  an  extensive  practice.  He  was  also 
a  farmer.  Up  to  this  time  he  had  never  held  any  elective 
office.  He  was  a  stormy  and  fiery  debater  of  good  though  not 
unusual  ability. 

The  Democratic  convention  met  on  May  13.  John  S. 
Eaton  was  temporary  chairman  and  Duncan  K.  McRae 
president.  Forty-two  counties  were  represented,  the  largest 
number  any  Democratic  convention  had  thus  far  had.  There 
was  much  enthusiasm  and  decided  unity.  Speeches  were 
made  by  R.  P.  Dick,  R.  M.  Saunders,  Abram  Rencher,  and 
J.  C.  Dobbin.  Reid  was  unanimously  renominated,  no  other 
name  having  been  mentioned.  He  appeared  and  addressed 
the  convention,  thereby  exciting  the  ire  of  the  Whigs  who, 
forgetting  that  Morehead,  Graham,  and  Manly  had  done 
the  same  thing,  insisted  that  it  was  improper  conduct  on  the 
part  of  the  governor. 

The  platform  declared  for  a  strict  construction  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  for  the  independent  treas- 
ury, for  a  tariff  for  revenue  only,  for  economy  in  the  federal 
administration,  and  asserted  devotion  to  the  Union  and 
desire  for  its  preservation  by  a  strict  and  faithful  observance 
of  the  Constitution  and  impartial  justice  to  all  its  parts.  It 
affirmed  willingness  to  abide  by  the  Compromise  and  insisted 
upon  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  refusing  support  to  any  man 
who  was  not  pledged  to  it.  It  renewed  the  party  opposition 
to  distribution  which  was  again  being  much  discussed  in 
North  Carolina  by  the  Whigs  as  well  as  by  a  number  of 
Democrats.  Robert  Strange  was  declared  the  choice  of  the 
party  for  Vice  President.  Reid's  administration  was  heart- 
ily endorsed  and  devotion  to  the  cause  of  free  suffrage  was 
affirmed,  strong  opposition  being  declared  at  the  same  time 
to  a  change  to  the  white  basis  for  representation.  J.  C.  Dob- 
bin, R.  M.  Saunders,  W.  2ST.  Edwards,  and  G.  W.  Caldwell 
were  chosen  as  delegates  to  the  national  convention. 

Interest  in  the  State  in  national  politics  was  exceedingly 
keen.  The  Democrats  were  fairly  well  united  on  James 
Buchanan,  but  the  Whigs  were  divided,  or  at  least  the  leaders 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  153 

were.  Whig  sentiment  was  overwhelmingly  favorable  to 
Fillmore,  and  the  Register  had  raised  his  name  with  that  of 
Graham  early  in  the  fall  of  1851.  But  Badger  was  thought 
to  be  for  Scott — though  this  was  a  mistake — and  Mangum 
and  Stanly  were  openly  so,  both  on  the  ground  of  availability. 
Even  the  Register,  seeing  the  trend  of  sentiment,  began  in 
March  to  hint  that  Scott  would  not  be  unacceptable.  Mangum 
was  chairman  of  the  Whig  caucus  in  Washington  which  was 
broken  up  by  division  because  it  declined  to  pledge  party 
support  to  the  full  terms  of  the  Compromise.  Clingman  and 
Outlaw  were  among  the  seceders  and  signed  the  address 
drawn  up  by  those  who  left.  Morehead,  Dockery  and  Stanly 
stayed  in  the  caucus  in  the  hope  of  a  compromise  which  they 
declared  absolutely  necessary.  Scott's  silence  on  the  Fugi- 
tive Slave  Law  hurt  him  in  the  State,  as  did  the  suspicion, 
loudly  voiced  by  the  Democrats  that  he  was  Seward's  candi- 
date. And  so  many  of  the  Whigs  grew  very  bitter  towards 
Mangum  because  of  his  identification  with  Scott's  candidacy. 
This  feeling  was  so  strong  that  Mangum  refused  to  take  the 
nomination  for  Vice  President  which  was  offered  him  after 
Scott  was  chosen.  The  North  Carolina  delegation  in  the 
national  convention  voted  for  Fillmore  until  the  end.  On 
the  twelfth  ballot  the  clerk  by  mistake  announced  that  the 
vote  of  North  Carolina  was  cast  for  Scott.  A  stampede  was 
about  to  begin  when  he  corrected  the  error,  but  this  was  not 
enough  for  the  North  Carolina  delegates  and  their  chairman 
at  once  arose  and  said  in  a  loud  voice,  "North  Carolina  casts 
ten  votes  for  Fillmore  and  none  for  Scott."  Crittenden  and 
Dawson  in  addition  to  Mangum  declined  the  nomination  for 
Vice  President  and  William  A.  Graham  received  it  almost 
unanimously. 

When  the  Democratic  convention  met  in  Baltimore,  R^  " 
M.  Saunders  was  temporary  chairman.  Dobbin,  the  chair- 
man of  the  delegation,  took  a  very  prominent  part  on  the 
floor.  The  delegation  voted  for  sixteen  ballots  for  Buchanan 
solidly.  On  the  seventeenth  Douglas  got  one  vote  from 
North  Carolina  which  had  increased  to  four  by  the  thirty- 


154  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

fourth.  From  the  thirty-fifth  to  the  forty-eighth  they  voted 
solidly  for  William  L.  Marcy  of  New  York.  When  on  the 
forty-ninth  ballot  North  Carolina  was  called,  Dobbin  rose 
and  said: 

Mr.  President,  pardon  me  for  obtruding  one  word  before 
North  Carolina  casts  her  vote.  We  come  to  pander  to  no 
factious  artifices  here — to  enlist  under  no  man's  banner  at 
the  hazard  of  principles — to  embark  in  no  crusade  to  pros- 
trate any  aspirant  for  the  sake  of  sectional  or  personal  tri- 
umph. We  come  to  select  one  in  the  array  of  noble  spirits 
in  our  ranks  to  be  our  great  leader  and  champion  in  the 
glorious  struggle  for  the  great  principles  of  democracy. 
Again  and  again  have  we  tendered  the  banner  to  the  North. 
Save  our  happy  Union,  guard  well  the  rights  of  the  States, 
say  we,  and  you  can  have  the  honor  of  the  standard-bearer. 
Zealously  and  sincerely  have  we  presented  the  name  of 
Buchanan,  that  noble  son  of  the  Old  Keystone,  around  whom 
the  warmest  affections  of  our  hearts  have  long  clustered.  We 
have  turned  to  New  York  and  sought  to  honor  one  of  her  dis- 
tinguished sons,  whose  splendid  administrative  powers  have 
just  been  so  faithfully  eulogized  by  my  friend  from  Missis- 
sippi. We  now  feel  that  in  the  midst  of  discord  and  dis- 
traction, the  olive  branch,  if  tendered  once  more,  cannot  be 
neglected.  We  feel  that  the  hour  now  has  come  when  the 
spirit  of  strife  must  be  banished,  and  leave  to  reign  in  her 
place  the  milder  and  gentler  and  holier  spirit  of  a  liberal 
patriotism.  Come,  Mr.  President,  let  us  to  the  altar  and 
make  our  sacrifices  for  our  country.  We  now  propose  with 
other  friends  the  name  of  one  who  was  in  the  field  just  long 
enough  to  prove  himself  a  gallant  soldier;  who  was  in  the 
councils  just  long  enough  to  demonstrate  that  he  is  the  states- 
man of  the  strong  mind  and  honest  heart ;  who  has  exhibited 
to  his  countrymen,  in  his  career  of  legislation,  that  he  knew 
the  rights  of  the  South  as  well  as  the  North,  the  East  and 
the  West ;  whose  sterling  principles  of  democracy  are  strong, 
solid,  and  enduring  like  the  granite  hills  of  his  own  New 
Hampshire  home — Gen.  Franklin  Pierce.  Come,  Mr.  Pres- 
ident, let  us  strike  now — now — for  harmony  and  conciliation, 
and  save  our  principles  and  our  country. 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  155 

A  scene  of  wild  excitement  followed,  the  convention  was 
stampeded  and  Pierce  was  nominated  on  that  ballot,  although 
his  highest  vote  before  that  ballot  had  been  twenty-nine,  and 
he  had  lost  votes  since  that  time. 

The  state  campaign  began  as  soon  as  Kerr  was  nomi- 
nated for  he  was  on  the  stump  before  the  Democratic  con- 
vention met.  As  soon  as  Reid  was  nominated  he  went  out 
also  and  the  first  joint  debate  occurred  at  Raleigh  in  June. 
Kerr  devoted  nearly  all  his  time  to  the  discussion  of  national 
affairs  and  when  he  finally  turned  his  attention  to  the  real 
issue  he  said  that  if  the  people  wanted  it  he  was  in  favor  of 
calling  a  convention,  but  that  he  was  unalterably  op- 
posed to  the  legislative  method  of  amendment.  He  never 
would  openly  and  directly  oppose  free  suffrage,  but  he  always 
insisted  that  the  constitution,  as  it  was,  was  "the  most  perfect 
constitutional  instrument  ever  devised  by  the  wit  of  man." 
The  Register  in  an  analysis  of  Kerr's  practical  views  stated 
that  he  thought  free  suffrage  in  itself  harmless,  but  feared 
it  because  it  would  open  the  way  for  "tinkering"  with  the 
sacred  instrument,  but  really  he  was  entirely  opposed  to  any 
change,  being  as  the  Register  s  article  indicated  entirely  re- 
actionary. His  arguments  against  constitutional  change  if 
read  aloud  to-day  might  be  taken  for  an  echo  of  the  campaign 
of  1914,  so  perfectly  does  it  match  those  employed  then  and 
for  the  same  purpose.  Kerr  was  not  alone  in  his  opposition. 
It  was  more  clearly  apparent  in  this  campaign  than  ever  that 
the  Whig  leaders  were  entirely  opposed  to  reform  and  that 
any  apparent  leaning  towards  it  was  merely  for  popular 
favor.  The  rank  and  file  were  divided,  the  West  genuine  in 
its  demand  for  an  open  convention  to  make  a  number  of 
needed  reforms,  and  the  East,  fearing  the  possible  change  to 
the  white  basis,  being  frantically  opposed  to  a  convention 
and,  rather  less  so,  to  free  suffrage. 

The  campaign  was  very  heated  and  charges  and  counter 
charges  rang  from  the  stump  and  filled  the  columns  of  the 
press.  The  Whig  press  as  usual  was  vehemently  abusive,  and, 
as  usual,  the  Register  took  the  lead  in  this  sort  of  thing. 


156  James  Spettnt  Histokical,  Publications 

Every  Democratc  candidate  was  a  demagogue  in  its  phrase- 
ology and  some  epithet  such  as  "dirty"  was  apt  to  precede 
the  title.  It  attacked  Reid  bitterly,  always  calling  him 
"Holden's  tool/'  "Holden's  Man  Friday,"  or  the  "prince  of 
demagogues,"  and  it  denied  to  him  honesty,  ability,  or  de- 
cency. There  were  at  this  time  twenty  Whig  and  eleven 
Democratic  newspapers  in  the  State,  but  the  odds  were  some- 
what lessened  by  the  fact  that  several  of  the  former  refused 
to  support  Kerr  because  of  his  attitude  towards  suffrage 
reform  and  a  number  more  declined  to  support  Scott,  some 
being  for  Webster  and  some  for  Fillmore.  The  Whigs  were 
much  alarmed  by  this  defection,  and  Graham  wrote  the 
Wilmington  Commercial,  which  was  associating  his  name 
with  that  of  Webster,  asking  that  his  name  should  be  with- 
drawn. There  was  also  a  considerable  defection  among 
prominent  Whigs,  notable  among  whom  were  Clingman,  who 
came  out  in  a  long  public  letter  in  advocacy  of  Pierce's  elec- 
tion, and  Rayner,  who  refused  to  take  any  part  in  the  cam- 
paign because  of  his  opposition  to  Scott. 

The  campaign  was  largely  conducted  on  the  free  suffrage 
and  convention  issues.  Kerr,  in  his  effort  to  please  both 
East  and  West,  became  involved  in  contradictions  which 
hurt  him  in  both  sections.  Reid,  having  a  single  position  to 
support,  was  more  fortunately  placed. 

The  result  was  never  in  doubt.  Reid  was  elected  by  a 
majority  of  5,564  in  a  vote  of  91,570,  a  gain  of  over  two 
thousand  over  1850.  The  legislative  elections  caused  surprise 
and  bitterness,  however,  to  the  Democrats.  They  held  the 
Senate  by  the  narrow  majority  of  six,  and  the  Whigs 
captured  the  House  and  had  a  majority  of  two  on  joint  ballot, 
with  the  possibility  of  electing  the  Senator  if  the  party  vote 
was  united,  but  with  small  hope  of  carrying  the  amendment 
or  of  redistricting  the  State  to  suit  themselves. 

The  presidential  campaign  lagged  after  the  state  election, 
for  the  people  lost  interest.  Graham's  name  gave  the  Whig 
ticket  strength  in  the  State  that  was  sufficient  to  save  it.  By 
a  strange  co-incidence  William  R.  King,  the  Democratic  can- 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  157 

didate  for  Vice  President  was  also  a  native  North  Carolinian 
and  a  former  student  of  the  University. 

Scott  and  Graham  received  a  popular  majority  of  1,697 
in  a  total  vote  of  64,933.  The  total  vote  was  more  than  26,000 
short  of  that  in  the  state  election,  and  the  majority  was 
smaller  by  more  than  6,000  votes  than  Taylor's  in  1848. 
As  in  state  affairs,  so  in  national,  the  day  of  the  Whig  party 
in  North  Carolina  had  really  reached  its  end.  It  was  to 
continue  to  exist,  an  opposition,  minority  party,  a  shadow 
of  its  former  self  and  steadily  losing  strength,  based  more, 
indeed  on  opposition  to  the  Democratic  party  than  on 
definite  political  principles  of  its  own,  yet  furnishing  suffi- 
cient opposition  to  keep  the  latter's  organization  at  a  high 
point  of  efficiency  without  ever  really  threatening  its  control 
of  the  State. 

Governor  Reid  was  compelled  to  call  the  legislature  into 
extra  session  in  October  to  enact  a  new  electoral  law  under 
the  apportionment  of  1850  which  gave  North  Carolina  only 
eight  members  of  Congress  and  hence  only  ten  electoral  votes. 
W.  N.  Edwards  was  elected  speaker  of  the  Senate  over  An- 
drew Joyner,  the  perennial  candidate  of  the  Whigs,  and 
Dobbin  was  defeated  by  John  Baxter  in  the  House. 

Governor  Reid  in  his  special  message  suggested  that  the 
regular  session  should  be  abandoned,  and  this  was  done, 
the  legislature  not  adjourning  when  the  particular  purpose 
of  the  session  was  accomplished.  In  his  regular  message 
he  urged  the  ratification  of  the  amendment,  arguing  against 
a  convention  and  a  change  in  the  basis  of  representation. 
His  message  also  contained  an  endorsement  of  public  edu- 
cation and  internal  improvements  and  urged  reform  of  the 
taxation  system. 

The  portion  of  his  message  relating  to  free  suffrage  was 
referred  to  a  select  committee  which  reported  adversely  to 
the  Governor's  recommendation.  A  minority  report  en- 
dorsed the  governor's  view  and  urged  action.  The  amend- 
ment passed  the  House  by  the  requisite  two-thirds'  majority, 
but  on  November  31  it  was  defeated  in  the  Senate,  thirty-one 

li 


158  James  Spkunt  Historical  Publications 

to  sixteen.  Reconsideration  was  immediately  decided  upon 
and,  on  December  3,  it  failed  again  by  a  vote  of  thirty-three 
to  fifteen,  Speaker  Edwards  not  voting.  His  vote  would 
have  carried  it  and  his  action,  as  might  be  imagined,  greatly 
angered  the  Democrats,  although  he  was  known  to  oppose  the 
amendment  and  had  opposed  it  before  his  election.  JSTo  at- 
tempt was  made  to  pass  a  new  bill,  but  a  bill  to  submit  to  the 
people  the  question  of  a  convention  failed  in  the  House. 

The  Democrats  were  deeply  distressed  at  the  failure  of 
the  amendment  but  were  not  disheartened,  for  they  knew  that 
a  large  majority  of  the  people  wanted  it.  The  opposition 
Whigs  were  jubilant,  the  Register  saying,  "We  are  unwilling 
to  believe  that  there  is  a  husting  in  the  State  from  which 
any  one  who  begins  to  croak  about  free  suffrage  will  not  be 
driven  with  hisses  and  scorn." 

The  attempt  to  elect  a  senator  caused  a  long  drawn  out 
contest.  Dobbin  was  the  nominee  of  the  Democratic  caucus, 
but  Saunders  still  had  his  eye  on  the  place  and  refused  to  vote 
for  him  until  it  was  too  late  and  several  other  Democrats 
followed  his  example.  Some  of  these  voted  for  James  B. 
Shepard.  The  Whigs  nominated  Rayner  but  never  voted  for 
him  with  any  regularity  and  they  later  supported  N\  W. 
Woodfin.  Throughout  they  cast  votes  for  Saunders,  who 
always  made  a  bid  for  Whig  support,  or  any  other  Democrat 
they  thought  they  might  encourage  to  stay  in  the  fight  and 
whose  candidacy  might  embarrass  the  organization  and  pre- 
vent the  election  of  Dobbin.  Dobbin's  conduct  in  the  matter, 
like  most  things  in  his  career,  was  very  fine.  Wheeler  says 
of  him,  "All  of  us  who  were  members  of  the  legislature  can 
remember  the  intense  excitement  of  the  time.  The  oppo- 
sition was  able,  active,  and  not  over-scrupulous.  They  could 
not  elect ;  but  by  aid  of  one  or  two  marplots  of  the  other  side 
could  prevent  the  election  of  the  Democratic  candidate. 
Amid  all  of  this  excitment  Mr.  Dobbin  appeared  the  only 
calm  and  considerate  person  among  us.  After  some  forty 
ballotings  he  requested  that  a  caucus  be  called,  and  with 
unaffected  sincerity  and  glowing  eloquence  he  requested  his 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  159 

name  to  be  withdrawn  and  some  other  person  voted  for.  He 
saw  with  sorrow  the  party  distracted  by  jealousies,  and  a 
fearful  chasm  of  disorder  had  been  opened,  engulfing  its 
unity,  if  not  its  very  existence.  He  withdrew  his  name; 
but  it  was  in  vain.  If  he  could  not  be  elected  no  other  per- 
son should  be,  and  the  State  had  only  one  senator  for  a  long 
time."  Towards  the  end  of  the  session  a  number  of  the 
Democrats  voted  for  Clingman  but  without  result. 

Chief  Justice  Ruffin  resigned  during  the  session  and 
Judge  Battle  was  elected  to  succeed  him  on  the  bench,  Judge 
Nash  becoming  chief  justice.  Saunders,  to  the  disgust  of 
the  Democrats,  who  not  unnaturally  blamed  him  for  a  large 
part  of  their  woes,  was  elected  to  the  Superior  bench  to  suc- 
ceed Battle. 

One  notable  accomplishment  of  the  session  was  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  office  of  superintendent  of  common  schools 
and  the  election  of  Calvin  H.  Wiley  to  fill  it.  He  was  a 
Whig  member  from  Guilford  who  had  proposed  the  creation 
of  the  office  two  years  before,  but  failing,  had  come  back  and 
was  now  successful.  His  work  in  the  position  needs  no  de- 
scription here. 

The  session  was  also  notable  for  the  incorporation  of  a 
large  number  of  railroads,  turnpikes,  and  plank  roads.  No 
less  than  forty-one  of  the  latter  were  chartered.  The  two 
most  important  railroads  were  the  Atlantic  and  North  Caro- 
lina from  Beaufort  to  Goldsboro,  and  the  North  Carolina  and 
Western,  later  the  Western  North  Carolina,  from  Salisbury 
to  the  Tennessee  line. 

The  laying  off  of  the  congressional  districts  and  the  ap- 
portionment of  the  House  of  Commons  was  accomplished 
without  much  difficulty,  but  the  laying  off  of  the  senatorial 
districts  was  accompanied  by  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
Whigs  in  the  House,  who  had  failed  to  carry  their  point, 
as  indeed  had  the  Democrats,  to  let  the  legislature  adjourn 
sine  die  under  a  joint  resolution  adopted  some  time  pre- 
viously, without  passing  the  bill.  Their  idea,  apparently, 
was  that  the  resulting  situation  would  force  the  call  of  a 


160  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

convention.  Their  plan,  if  they  had  any,  was  twice  defeated 
by  Speaker  Baxter,  a  Whig  himself,  who,  to  prevent  such 
action,  twice  violated  the  rules  of  the  House  by  peremptorily 
cutting  off  debate  and  forcing  a  vote  on  the  Senate's  resolu- 
tion to  receive  the  adjournment  resolution.  He  then  resigned 
and  was  immediately  re-elected. 

The  early  months  of  1853  saw  Badger  nominated  by 
President  Fillmore  to  be  associate  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  This  was  done  after  an  under- 
standing had  been  reached  that  the  Senate  would  confirm 
the  nomination  which  however,  it  failed  to  do.  Another 
national  honor  paid  a  North  Carolinian  was  the  appointment 
of  Dobbin  to  be  secretary  of  the  navy  in  President  Pierce's 
cabinet.  His  distinguished  services  in  this  capacity  are 
known  to-day  to  only  too  few  North  Carolinians.  Among  the 
things  he  accomplished  were  the  establishment  of  the  appren- 
tice system,  the  system  of  promotion  for  merit,  the  system  of 
a  retired  list  on  pay,  and  the  construction  of  six  first-class 
steam  frigates,  the  first  in  the  service.  In  his  last  report  was 
the  following  which  is  of  particular  interest  today: 

I  deem  it  my  duty  candidly  to  express  my  opinion  that 
our  Navy  is  not  only  too  diminutive  to  be  expected  to  con- 
tend fairly  with  that  of  other  respectable  Nations,  is  insuffi- 
cient to  give  protection  to  our  commerce,  but  is  unquestion- 
ably too  feeble  to  command  the  waters  of  our  own  coast.  .  .  . 
I  could  not  if  I  would  disguise  the  truth  that  even  a  respect- 
able Navy  must  necessarily  involve  large  expenditures. 
But  it  is  equally  true  that  without  naval  strength  a  six 
months'  war  with  any  Nation  with  a  powerful  marine 
would  in  the  seizure  of  rich  and  valuable  cargoes,  in 
the  destruction  of  fleets  of  merchantmen,  and  in  plundering 
defenseless  points  along  the  coast,  cost  us  more,  than  a  squad- 
ron of  invincible  men-of-war.  ...  I  regard  the  steady 
increasa  of  naval  strength  not  as  a  war,  but  as  a  peace  meas- 
ure— a  measure  of  defense  involving  grave  questions  of  com- 
mercial security  and  National  independence.  Negotiations 
and  diplomacy  will  be  exhausted  before  war  is  made  upon  a 
Nation  of  brave  men,  powerful  and  ready  for  the  conflict.  .  . 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  161 

There  is  much  in  the  proud  consciousness  of  National 
strength  that  stimulates  trade,  emboldens  enterprise,  and 
nerves  the  arm  of  commerce.  And  while  I  by  no  means  sug- 
gest the  policy  or  the  necessity  of  so  large  a  naval  force  as 
many  powerful  Nations  foster,  yet  it  is  desirable  and  at- 
tainable, too,  that  the  American  citizen,  whether  in  the  opu- 
lent emporiums  along  the  coast  or  in  the  rural  retreats  of 
the  interior,  or  borne  in  his  adventurous  spirit  to  traffic  in 
the  thronged  ports  of  the  strong  or  the  insecurer  ports  of  the 
barbarous  and  weak,  should  gather  confidence  and  courage 
and  energy  from  the  reflection  that  he  belongs  to  a  Govern- 
ment recognized  by  all  as  able  to  avenge  his  wrongs  and 
vindicate  his  rights. 

The  congressional  campaign  of  1853  had  little  in  it 
worthy  of  particular  note,  save  the  revival  of  the  distribu- 
tion issue.  The  districts  were  much  changed  by  the  new  law 
and  their  numbers  have  no  reference  to  those  of  the  former 
districts.  In  the  first  H.  M.  Shaw,  a  Democrat,  defeated 
David  Outlaw.  Thomas  Ruffin  of  Wayne,  was  opposed  un- 
successfully by  W.  C.  Loftin,  an  independent  Democrat.  In 
the  third,  Duncan  K.  McRae  was  a  candidate,  but,  being  ap- 
pointed consul  to  Paris,  withdrew,  leaving  W.  S.  Ashe  and 
W.  F.  Leak,  the  latter  running  as  an  advocate  of  distribution, 
to  fight  it  out.  Ashe  was  elected.  In  the  fourth,  which 
seemed  safely  Democratic,  there  was  much  opposition  to 
Venable,  the  sitting  member,  because  he  had  voted  for  the 
Bennett  land  distribution  bill  and  because  he  was  opposed  to 
the  acquisition  of  Cuba.  A.  M.  Lewis,  who  was  another 
Democratic  candidate,  proposed  a  convention  to  settle  their 
respective  claims,  but  Venable,  hoping  for  Whig  support, 
refused  and  both  stayed  in  the  race.  The  Whigs  then  brought 
out  Sion  H.  Rogers  who  made  distribution  the  issue  with 
Lewis  and  was  elected.  In  the  fifth  Morehead  declined  to 
run  again  and  John  Kerr  was  successful,  the  Democrats  mak- 
ing no  nomination  but  voting  generally  for  Abraham  Rench- 
er.  J.  P.  Caldwell  had  been  much  opposed  to  Scott  the  year 
before,  so  the  Whigs  dropped  him  and  brought  out  R.  C.  Pur- 
year  who  defeated  George  D.  Boyd,  the  regular  Democratic 


162  James  Speunt  Historical  Publications 

candidate.  Burton  Craige  and  James  W.  Osborne  faced 
each  other  in  the  seventh  and  conducted  the  most  spirited 
campaign  of  all  the  candidates,  in  which  Craige,  in  spite  of 
the  inclination  for  South  Carolina  political  ideas  with  which 
the  Whigs  charged  him,  was  successful.  Burgess  S.  Gaither 
again  opposed  Clingman  in  the  mountain  district  and  with 
the  same  result,  Clingman,  who  was  now,  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  a  Democrat,  but  with  much  Whig  strength,  de- 
feating him  with  ease.  In  spite  of  the  new  apportionment 
having  been  made  partly  by  Whigs,  the  Democrats  had  won 
five  of  the  districts. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1854 

North  Carolina  Whigs  in  the  autumn  of  1853  began  to 
gird  up  their  loins  for  the  contest  of  the  coming  year.  The 
leaders  had  not  yet  discovered  that  the  sceptre  had  departed 
from  Israel  and  were  unable  to  believe  that  Democratic  vic- 
tory in  1850  and  1852  was  due  to  anything  else  but  accident, 
plus  David  S.  Reid.  With  Reid's  approaching  ineligibility 
they  were  confident  of  being  able  again  to  regain  their  lost 
ground.  The  leaders  were  not  at  all  in  close  touch,  however, 
with  the  people  and  had  no  conception  of  the  changes  being 
wrought  in  the  very  fibre  of  popular  sentiment  in  the  State. 
Their  artistocratic  tendencies  in  politics  were  more  clearly 
recognized,  too,  by  the  people.  The  Wilmington  Journal  in 
the  spring  of  1854  gave  the  following  analysis  of  the  Whig 
attitude  which,  while  it  may  have  been  exaggerated,  was 
nevertheless  fundamentally  true: 

The  Whigs  appear  to  think  this  world  of  ours  composed 
of  two  very  different  and  distinct  classes — themselves  and 
their  candidates  who,  dwelling  in  the  odor  of  "Respectabil- 
ity" are  above  and  beyond  criticism,  and  must  be  handled 
with  silk  gloves  properly  scented — and  the  mere  rabble,  the 
"Locofocos,"  comprising  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  North 
Carolina  who  are  utterly  unworthy  of  respectable  treatment. 

The  aspect  of  national  affairs  also  immeasurably  helped 
the  Democratic  party.  Hope  as  the  South  might  that  the 
compromise  of  1850  would  be  a  finality,  there  was  small 
reason  at  that  or  any  other  time  to  believe  that  such  would  be 
the  case  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  few  really  believed  it,  for 
the  slavery  question  was  patently  one  that  from  its  nature 
could  not  yet  be  closed.  The  menace  of  the  situation  from 
the  Southern  standpoint  was  the  attitude  of  the  Northern 
Whigs.  Consequently  these  things,  with  the  firm  hold  that 
the  old  leaders  of  the  party  had  upon  its  machinery,  were 
leading  to  a  steady  and  growing  exodus  of  Whigs  to  the  Dem- 


164  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

ocracy.  These  were  of  two  classes.  The  more  numerous  was 
probably  that  composed  of  those  who  were  uneasy  as  to  South- 
ern interests  and  who  were  fearful  of  the  tendencies  of  the 
Northern  Whigs,  believing  that  their  hostility  to  slavery  was 
a  menace  not  only  to  any  real  unity  in  the  party  but  to  the 
South  as  a  whole.  Many  of  these  were  young  men  who  were 
inclined  to  be  particularly  extreme  in  their  advocacy  of  the 
Southern  position,  but  older  leaders  such  as  Clingman  were 
also  to  be  found.  The  second  class  was  composed  almost  en- 
tirely of  young  men  who  wanted  to  get  into  the  more  open 
atmosphere  of  the  Democratic  party  and  to  enjoy  its  greater 
opportunities  for  political  advancement.  It  is  scarcely  neces- 
sary to  add  that  this  class  was  also  profoundly  affected  by 
the  free  suffrage  issue. 

On  December  3,  1853,  the  Whi<i  convention  issued  the 
call  for  the  state  convention  to  meet  February  21,  1854,  and 
immediately  Whig  meetings  were  held  throughout  the  State, 
marked  by  increased  enthusiasm  and  confidence.  The  Demo- 
cratic committee  did  not  meet  until  Janaury  25,  and  the  date 
selected  for  their  convention  was  April  19. 

In  the  meantime  momentous  action  was  being  taken  in 
Congress.  In  January,  Stephen  A.  Douglas  introduced  the 
Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  which,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  a  de- 
liberately and  grossly  distorted  view  of  his  action  has  since 
led  to  general  misunderstanding  of  his  purposes,  was  never- 
theless a  veritable  Pandora's  box  of  national  ills.  By  it  the 
Missouri  Compromise  was  definitely  repealed  and  the  prin- 
ciples of  popular  or  "squatter"  sovereignty  were  substi- 
tuted to  determine  the  question  of  slavery  in  the  terri- 
tories. The  bill  was  pending  for  more  than  four  months  and 
during  that  time  was  the  subject  of  much  discussion  in  North 
Carolina. 

Practically  all  the  Democrats  hailed  the  bill  joyfully  as 
a  settlement  of  the  slavery  question.  Douglas  became  more 
popular  than  ever  in  the  State  and  the  Democrats  asked  the 
Whigs  if  they  could  now  justify  the  epithets  such  as  "dirty 
little  demagogue"  which  they  had  so  freely  applied  to  him 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  165 

in  the  past.  The  latter  were  at  first  disposed  to  opposition 
for  purely  party  reasons,  but  it  was  faint-hearted  opposition. 
The  following  comment  of  the  Register,  soon  after  the  intro- 
duction of  the  bill  is  highly  significant: 

We  confess  that  we  doubt  the  utility  of  disturbing  the 
Missouri  Compromise,  which  was  acquiesced  in  by  the  South 
as  the  condition  of  the  admission  of  Missouri  as  a  slave  State 
— though  we  hardly  know  what  modification  our  views  may 
undergo.  The  North  may  say  that  by  attempting  to  repeal 
the  solemn  slavery  restriction  clause,  the  South  has  violated 
a  solemn  compact,  and  it  will  be  difficult  to  refute  the 
charge. 

But  the  growing  sectional  feeling  evoked  in  defense  of 
slavery  was  very  strong  and  that  combined  with  Badger's 
hearty  endorsement  and  support  of  the  bill  determined  the 
Whig  attitude.  In  the  House  Puryear  and  Rogers  voted 
against  it,  but  the  rest  of  the  delegation  voted  for  it  and 
John  Kerr  made  an  elaborate  speech  in  advocacy  of  it  which 
with  Badger's  speeches  won  enthusiastic  commendation  from 
the  Democrats.  The  Whig  convention  in  February  endorsed 
the  principle  of  non-intervention  by  Congress  in  respect  to 
slavery  in  the  territories  but  went  no  further.  The  rank  and 
file  of  the  party,  however,  soon  accepted  the  bill  as  entirely  as 
the  Democrats  and  its  passage  was  hailed  by  all  without  dis- 
tinction of  party  as  a  great  Southern  triumph. 

In  neither  party  was  there  at  the  beginning  of  the  pre-- 
convention  movement  any  outstanding  candidate.  George  .  •  ^- j 
Davis,  James  W.  Osborne,  Edwin  G.  Eeade,  D.  M.  Bar- 
ringer,  Alfred  Dockery,  David  Outlaw  and  Joseph  B.  Cher- 
ry were  all  mentioned  as  Whig  possibilities.  In  the  Demo- 
cratic party  there  was  at  first  even  wider  variation,  John  W. 
Ellis,  Asa  Biggs,  William  H.  Thomas,  Abraham  Bencher, 
George  Bower,  Thomas  Bragg,  Cadwallader  Jones,  Colum- 
bus Mills,  and  W.  W.  Avery  all  being  discussed.  The  West 
was  loudly  claiming  the  candidate,  with  Ellis,  Mills,  or  Avery 
as  favorites,  but  Ellis  and  Avery  at  once  declined  to  be  con- 
sidered and  Mills  had  no  chance  whatever. 


166  James  Sprunt  Historical,  Publications 

In  the  fall  of  1853  Holden  and  Daniel  W.  Courts,  the 
state  treasurer,  gave  much  time  to  a  consideration  of  the 
question  of  a  candidate.  They  finally  settled  upon  Thomas 
Bragg  and  when  he  attended  the  winter  term  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  Holden  had  a  conference  with  him  at  the  Yarborough 
House  at  which  Bragg  consented  to  be  the  party  candidate 
if  there  was  no  serious  opposition  to  him  in  the  party. 
Holden  then  called  the  Wake  County  Democrats  to  a  meeting 
and  resolutions  were  passed  endorsing  Bragg.  Other  coun- 
ties rapidly  followed  suit  and  it  was  generally  understood 
before  the  convention  met  that  he  would  be  selected. 

The  Whig  convention  organized  with  Joseph  B.  Cherry 
as  temporary  chairman  and  chose  Richard  S.  Donnell  presi- 
dent. The  renewed  activity  and  confidence  of  the  leaders 
was  seen  in  the  presence  of  185  delegates  from  41  counties. 
The  platform  was  very  short.  It  expressed  the  devotion  of 
the  party  to  the  Constitution  and  the  Union  and  avowed  a 
determination  to  resist  all  attempts  to  alienate  one  section 
from  another.  Once  more  it  demanded  the  distribution  of 
the  proceeds  from  the  public  lands.  Its  expression  concern- 
ing slavery  in  the  territories  has  already  been  noted.  As  a 
matter  of  course  it  condemned  the  Pierce  administration. 
On  the  free  suffrage  question  it  had  the  following  to  say: 
"Resolved,  That  we  are  of  opinion  that  the  people  of  North 
Carolina  desire  a  change  in  the  Constitution  of  the  State, 
and  that  this  can  be  most  wisely  and  safely  done  by  a  con- 
vention of  delegates,  elected  by  the  people;  therefore,  we 
recommend  to  the  Legislature  to  call  such  a  convention,  and, 
in  submitting  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  people,  so  to 
provide,  as  to  preserve  the  present  basis  of  representation 
in  the  Legislature." 

The  platform  closed  with  an  endorsement  of  common 
schools  and  internal  improvements.  When  the  nomination 
of  a  candidates  came,  Alfred  Doekery  was  unanimously 
chosen. 

Alfred  Doekery  was  born  in  Richmond  County  in  1797 
within  a  mile  of  the  place  where  he  spent  his  life  and  where 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  167 

he  finally  died.  Deprived  by  poverty  and  by  the  necessity  of 
assisting  in  the  support  of  a  large  family  of  any  opportunity 
of  education,  he,  nevertheless,  rose  through  industry,  char- 
acter, and  native  ability,  not  only  to  considerable  wealth, 
but  to  high  political  position.  His  public  life  commenced  in 
1822  when  he  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons.  He 
served  as  a  delegate  to  the  convention  of  1835  and  in  1836 
was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  and  was  continuously  a  mem- 
ber until  1845  when  he  was  elected  to  Congress  over  Jon- 
athan Worth,  the  regular  Whig  candidate.  He  served  only 
one  term,  but  in  1851  was  again  a  candidate  and  won,  as 
will  be  remembered,  on  the  issue  of  upholding  the  Union 
against  secession.  He  was  a  plain  man  of  hard  sense,  gen- 
uinely devoted  to  the  State  and  its  people,  and  an  earnest 
advocate  of  public  education  and  internal  improvements. 
He  was  an  effective  campaigner  and  a  strong  man  on 
the  stump.  An  amusing  instance  of  his  methods  has  come 
to  us  from  his  campaign  with  Worth.  The  latter  was  a  poor 
and  comparatively  unknown  lawyer  when  he  ran  for  Con- 
gress and  on  one  occasion  he  unwisely  attempted  to  win  the 
sympathy  of  the  crowd  by  calling  attention  to  Dockery's 
wealth,  particularly  as  evidenced  by  his  fine  brick  residence. 
He  had  scarcely  mentioned  this  when  Dockery  jumped  to 
his  feet  and  rushing  to  the  front  of  the  platform  extended 
both  arms  and  cried :  "Yes,  and  it  was  these  old  yaller  hands 
of  mine  that  built  all  of  it." 

The  Democratic  convention  indicated  even  more  enthusi- 
asm and  confidence  than  the  Whig  meeting.  Forty-nine 
counties  were  represented  and  the  high-water  mark  to  that 
time  of  200  delegates  was  reached.  Asa  Biggs  was  tempo- 
rary chairman  and  Abraham  Rencher  president.  According 
to  expectation  Bragg  was  nominated  unanimously.  The 
platform  declared  for  a  rigid  construction  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  as  a  grant  of  limited  powers.  It 
endorsed  as  usual  the  independent  treasury,  condemned  a 
national  bank,  favored  a  tariff  for  revenue,  and  opposed  pro- 
tection,  endorsed  the  administrations  of  Pierce  and  Reid, 


168  James  Spkunt  Historical  Publications 

approved  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  and  opposed  distribu- 
tion. In  three  strong  planks  it  discussed  state  questions, 
taking  firm  ground  for  free  suffrage,  internal  improvements 
and  common  schools. 

Thomas  Bragg  was  a  native  of  Warren  County.  His 
father,  a  carpenter  and  contractor,  was  a  man  of  fine  sense 
and  a  firm  believer  in  education.  There  were  four  sons,  all 
of  whom  were  distinguished.  John  Bragg  graduated  from 
the  University  in  1824  and  after  five  years'  service  in  the 
North  Carolina  legislature  removed  to  Alabama  where  he 
won  reputation  as  an  editor,  lawyer,  judge,  and  a  member 
of  Congress.  He  was  later  to  be  a  member  of  the  secession 
convention  of  Alabama.  William  Bragg  was  a  captain  in 
the  Confederate  service  and  was  killed  in  battle.  Braxton 
Bragg  is  too  well  known  for  any  notice  here.  Thomas  Bragg 
was  the  ablest  of  the  four.  He  was  born  in  1810  and  re- 
ceived his  early  education  under  Rev.  George  W.  Freeman, 
who  later  became  Bishop  of  Arkansas,  and  Rev.  James  H. 
Otey,  who  became  Bishop  of  Tennessee.  Later  Bragg  was 
sent  to  Partridge's  Academy  at  Middletown,  Conn.,  where 
he  remained  three  years.  Studying  law  under  Judge  John 
Hall,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  began  practice  at  Jack- 
son, at  once  winning  reputation  in  the  profession.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  he  was  easily  the  greatest  lawyer  who  held  the  execu- 
tive office  in  the  period  under  dis2ussion.  He  served  as  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  1842  and  was  chair- 
man of  the  judiciary  committee,  then  the  chief  honor  on  the 
floor.  His  only  other  public  service  was  as  a  presidential 
elector  in  1844,  1848,  and  1852,  when  he  canvassed  against 
William  W.  Cherry,  Kenneth  Rayner  and  D.  A.  Barnes  in 
succession  and  proved  himself  in  their  class  as  a  debater  and 
campaigner. 

The  campaign  began  as  soon  as  Dockery  was  nominated. 
Bragg  met  him  in  joint  debate  several  times  before  his  own 
nomination,  not  as  an  avowed  candidate,  but  simply  as  a  po- 
litical opponent.  The  campaign  continued  until  the  election 
accompanied  by  the  most  complete  and  therefore  the  most 


Pakty  Politics  in  North  Carolina  169 

arduous  canvass  of  the  State  up  to  that  time.  Dockery  at- 
tempted to  make  internal  improvements  the  chief  issue  be- 
cause his  own  chief  interest  was  there  and  because  Brac;2; 
had  never  been  strong  in  his  support  of  them.  The  proposed 
Western  Extension  of  the  North  Carolina  Railroad  was  pop- 
ular in  the  State  and  Bragg's  failure  to  take  a  strong  po- 
sition in  favor  of  it  made  the  prospect  for  his  election  look 
dark  when  Holden  warned  him  of  the  danger  and  Bragg  at 
once  gave  his  hearty  endorsement  to  the  proposed  measure. 

Having  thus  strengthened  himself  Bragg  had  the  ad- 
vantage as  to  the  other  issues  of  the  campaign.  The  Whigs 
had  been  much  divided  on  the  question  of  free  suffrage  and 
the  plank  of  their  platform  which  was  a  compromise,  did  not 
even  meet  with  individual  Whig  approval.  The  party  lead- 
ers did  not  like  free  suffrage  any  better  than  they  had  done 
when  it  was  first  proposed.  The  Register  during  the  cam- 
paign denied  that  the  party  had  ever  opposed  it,  but  in  ad- 
dition to  the  absurdity  of  the  claim,  the  party  leaders  and  the 
Whig  press,  including  the  Register,  still  sneered  at  it  as 
"Reid's  hobby,"  "a  demagogue's  pet"  and  "Douglas'  pres- 
ent." The  mass  of  the  people,  however,  irrespective  of 
party,  wanted  the  reform  and  the  Democratic  record  on  the 
question,  in  spite  of  Weldon  N.  Edwards'  casting  vote  which 
had  defeated  it  in  1852,  was  fairly  clear. 

The  Whigs  as  usual  claimed  internal  improvements  and 
public  education  as  their  own.  True  as  that  had  been  in  the 
past,  it  had  now  ceased  to  be  so.  Under  Democratic  rule 
both  systems  had  been  greatly  extended,  and  to  the  Whig 
charge  that  continued  Democratic  control  and  conduct  of 
state  affairs  would  be  ruinous,  the  Democrats  were  able  to 
reply  by  pointing  to  the  fact  that  the  State  was  more  pros- 
perous than  ever  before  and  that  North  Carolina  bonds  were 
selling  for  the  first  time  at  a  premium. 

The  election  resulted  in  a  majority  for  Bragg  of  2.061 
in  a  total  vote  of  95,349.  Compared  to  the  result  of  1852 
the  Whigs  had  gained  in  every  congressional  district  but  the 
first  and  the  seventh,  their  total  s;ain  beinff  3,505.     The  leais- 


170  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

lative  result,  however,  showed  greater  Democratic  strength. 
In  the  Senate  there  was  a  clear  Democratic  majority  of 
twelve,  and  in  the  House  one  of  ten.  Among  the  Whigs  in 
the  House  were  four  so-called  Southern  Rights  Whigs  who 
usually  acted  with  the  Democrats  so  the  strength  of  the  latter 
was  even  greater  than  their  majority. 

The  politics  of  this  year  indicated  two  things  which 
might  menace  the  continued  triumph  of  the  Democratic 
party.  One  was  the  resurgence  of  the  question  of  distribu- 
tion. Many  Democrats  were  tempted  by  the  possibility  of 
so  much  money's  coming  to  the  State  as  a  free  gift  and  a 
Democratic  newspaper  was  established  in  advocacy  of  the 
policy,  but  the  time  was  not  ripe  and  only  one  issue  appeared. 
The  other  threat  lay  in  the  rise  of  the  Know  Nothing  party 
and  its  extension  South.  The  existence  of  the  party  was 
much  discussed  in  the  summer,  and  in  the  autumn  a  meet- 
ing of  the  new  party  was  held  secretly  in  Raleigh.  The 
Democrats  attacked  it  bitterly  for  its  religious  intolerance 
and  declared  it  merely  abolition  in  disguise.  The  Register 
and  the  members  of  the  Whig  party  generally  were  inclined 
to  take  a  much  more  charitable  view  of  it  and  in  fact  were 
ready  to  join  the  new  movement. 

When  the  legislature  met,  Warren  Winslow  of  Cumber- 
land was  chosen  speaker  of  the  Senate  over  Joseph  B.  Cher- 
ry of  Bertie  and  S.  P.  Hill  of  Caswell,  speaker  of  the  House 
over  J.  S.  Amis  of  Granville.  Governor  Reid  in  his  message 
recommended  the  renewed  passage  of  the  free  suffrage 
amendment  and  also  urged  the  popular  election  of  judges. 
Just  as  strongly  he  asked  for  a  reform  of  the  entire  revenue 
system  of  the  State.  He  devoted  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  message  to  the  questions  of  internal  improvements  and 
public  education  and  closed  with  the  suggestion  that  the 
threatening  aspect  of  national  affairs  should  be  considered 
by  the  legislature. 

The  election  of  two  United  States  senators  made  the 
session  notable  from  the  politicians'  point  of  view.  The 
Whigs  had  some  hope  that  Badger's  earnest  support  of  the 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  171 

Kansas-Nebraska  bill  might  cause  his  re-election  by  the 
Democrats.  The  Register  had  gone  so  far  as  to  say  that  this 
would  probably  fuse  the  two  parties  in  the  State  and  sever 
all  connection  with  the  Northern  Whigs  who  were  so  detested 
by  the  Democrats  and  now,  be  it  said,  by  many  of  the  Whigs. 
But  such  action  was  not  generally  expected. 

Dobbin  signified  to  his  friends  before  the  legislature  met 
his  wish  that  his  name  should  not  be  presented.  The  candi- 
dates were  Biggs,  Reid,  Clingman,  and  Craige.  The  fol- 
lowing was  the  caucus  vote,  forty-four  being  necessary  to  a 
choice : 

First     Second     Third     Fourth 

Biggs    42  50  —  — 

Reid    35  36  37  46 

Clingman    11  —  21  21 

Craige    —  —  25  19 

Thomas  Ruffin  ....      —  —  2  — 

Totals 88  86  85  86 

The  Whigs  supported  Badger  and  D.  M.  Barringer. 

Governor  Reid's  acceptance  of  the  election  created  a 
vacancy  in  the  gubernatorial  office  which  under  the  consti- 
tution was  filled  by  the  speaker  of  the  Senate.  It  was  the 
view  of  the  Democrats  that  the  speaker  not  only  became  gov- 
ernor but  continued  to  fill  his  legislative  office  as  well.  The 
Democratic  leaders  submitted  the  question  to  Judge  Ruffin 
who  declared  it  his  opinion  that  Winslow  must  remain  as 
speaker.  The  Whigs  attacked  this  view  and  much  time  was 
consumed  in  argument  on  the  question  but  numbers  prevailed 
and  for  a  month  Warren  Winslow  was  both  governor  and 
speaker  of  the  Senate.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  Bragg 
was  inaugurated.  In  his  inaugural  address  he  endorsed  the 
proposed  constitutional  amendment,  declared  his  intention  of 
supporting  the  movement  for  internal  improvements,  and  in 
his  discussion  of  national  affairs  showed  himself  to  be  a  po- 
tential secessionist. 

In  the  election  of  state  officers  the  Democrats  followed 


172  James  Spkunt  Historical  Publications 

party  lines  very  closely,  electing  only  one  Whig,  that  being 
William  Hill,  the  secretary  of  state.  After  the  filling  of 
places  the  legislature  had  time  to  consider  the  important 
question  of  constitutional  amendment.  William  A.  Graham, 
who  was  a  member  of  the  Senate,  introduced  an  amendment 
to  the  bill  providing  for  the  submission  to  the  people  of  the 
question  of  an  unlimited  convention.  The  bill  ignored  the 
need  of  a  two-thirds'  vote  of  each  house  to  call  a  convention 
and  won  the  instant  opposition  of  the  Democrats  on  that 
score  as  well  as  on  the  merits  of  the  question.  It  provoked 
a  long  discussion  and  was  rejected  as  were  various  other 
amendments  proposed  by  the  Whigs.  The  original  bill  then 
passed  by  the  following  vote: 

For — Senate :  Democrats  30 ;  Whigs  5.  House :  Demo- 
crats 64;  Whigs  29. 

Againsf — Senate :  Democrats  3 ;  Whigs  12.  House :  Dem- 
ocrats 0;  Whigs  18. 

A  strong  series  of  resolutions,  introduced  by  Thomas 
Settle,  endorsing  the  Kansas -Nebraska  act  was  tabled.  This 
was  the  only  national  question  which  came  before  the  legisla- 
ture and  it  was  probably  smothered  to  avoid  the  waste  of 
time  in  discussion. 

Important  railroad  legislation  was  enacted.  Additional 
stock  to  the  amount  of  one  million  dollars  was  taken  in  the 
North  Carolina  Railroad  ;  the  authorized  stock  of  the  Atlantic 
and  North  Carolina  was  increased  with  the  provision  that  the 
State  should  still  hold  its  two-thirds  of  the  whole  amount  of 
the  stock;  the  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad  was  incor- 
porated to  run  from  Salisbury  to  some  point  on  the  French 
Broad  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge,  the  State  agreeing  to  take  as 
much  as  $1,400,000  of  the  stock ;  the  Wilmington,  Charlotte 
and  Rutherford  Railroad  was  incorporated  to  connect  Wil- 
mington and  Charlotte,  the  State  agreeing  to  take  four  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  in  stock  and  six  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars more  when  the  road  was  extended  to  Rutherfordton. 

Among  the  most  important  acts  of  the  session  was  the 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  173 

passage  of  a  new  and  greatly  improved  revenue  act  which 
was  expected  to  relieve  the  State  of  any  uneasiness  as  to 
funds.  It  was  a  step  to  reform,  but  the  tax  question  was  one 
which  remained  unsettled. 

The  congressional  campaign  of  1855  was  chiefly  inter- 
esting for  the  prominence  of  the  Know-Nothing  question  in 
the  campaign.  The  American  or  Know-Nothing  party,  which 
had  for  its  cardinal  principles  opposition  to  immigration  and 
the  participation  of  recent  immigrants  in  politics  and  oppo- 
sition to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  was  now  spreading 
very  rapidly  in  North  Carolina,  where  there  had  never  been 
any  alien  problem  and  where  none  was  likely  to  arise  and 
where  there  was  only  a  handful  of  Roman  Catholics  and  no 
Catholic  problem,  and  by  the  summer  the  estimated  member- 
ship was  thirty-five  thousand.  Some  Democrats  joined  the 
order,  but,  discovering  shortly  that  in  North  Carolina  at  any 
rate  it  was  nothing  but  the  old  Whig  party  in  disguise,  soon 
abandoned  it.  It  was  through  the  public  withdrawal  of  such 
members  that  the  State  as  a  whole  was  first  informed  of  its 
presence.  James  B.  Shepard  was  the  best  known  Democrat 
to  join  and  he  remained  a  member.  Probably  the  leading 
member  in  the  State  was  Kenneth  Rayner  who  in  1855  se- 
cured the  adoption  by  the  national  council  of  the  third  or 
"Union"  degree,  notable  for  its  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
Union,  which  he  wrote.  The  Democrats  viewed  the  order  with 
horror  for  a  double  reason.  They  disliked  its  nature,  being 
opposed  to  a  secret  political  society,  and  they  recognized 
its  identification  with  the  Whig  party.  Press  and  plat- 
form orator  vied  in  denunciation  of  it  and  Judge  Saun- 
ders at  Buncombe  Superior  Court,  when  the  grand  jury 
asked  for  instructions  upon  the  subject,  charged  that  it  was 
an  illegal  and  hence  indictable  conspiracy. 

In  the  first  district  H.  M.  Shaw,  the  sitting  member,  was 
renominated  and  was  defeated  by  Robert  T.  Paine,  an  Amer- 
ican. In  the  second,  Thomas  Ruffin  was  re-elected  over 
Thomas  J.  Latham,  an  American.  Warren  Winslow  was 
chosen  in  the  third  over  David  Reid,  a  former  Democrat  but 

12 


174  James  Speunt  Historical  Publications 

now  an  American.  In  the  fourth  the  Democrats  nominated 
George  W.  Thompson  of  Wake,  and,  upon  his  refusal,  L. 
O'B.  Branch,  who  defeated  James  B.  Shepard.  In  the  fifth 
John  Kerr,  the  Whig  member,  was  dropped  partly  because  of 
the  vigor  of  his  advocacy  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  and 
more  because  of  the  corresponding  vigor  of  his  opposition  to 
the  Know-lSTothing  movement.  Edwin  G.  Reade  was  chosen 
in  his  place  and,  though  the  Democrats  supported  Kerr  who 
now  joined  their  party,  was  elected.  In  the  sixth  the  Demo- 
crats nominated  George  W.  Boyd  who  declined  to  run  and 
A.  M.  Scales  was  chosen.  R.  C.  Puryear,  the  Whig  incum- 
bent, defeated  him.  Burton  Craige  was  again  successful  in 
the  seventh,  defeating  S.  N.  Stowe,  an  American,  as  was 
Thomas  L.  Clingman  in  the  eighth  who  defeated  L.  B.  Car- 
michael. 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1856 

The  steady  growth  of  the  Know-Nothings  gave  much  en- 
couragement to  the  entire  opposition  in  the  fall  and  winter 
of  1855,  and,  as  by  that  time  the  organization  was  an  open 
one,  many  difficulties  due  to  its  secrecy  were  removed  and 
hope  rose  again  that  the  Democracy  might  be  overcome. 

The  American  convention  met  at  Greensboro,  April  10. 
C.  T.  N".  Davis  of  McDowell,  was  temporary  chairman,  and 
Sion  H.  Rogers,  president.  The  platform  was  the  usual 
Whig  platform  with  two  changes.  One  of  these  was  a  plank 
declaring  the  approval  of  the  party  of  the  adoption  of  a 
scheme  of  internal  improvements  which  would  not  add  any 
burdens  to  the  people  in  the  way  of  taxation.  This  qualifi- 
cation shows  the  influence  of  a  feeling  that  was  gaining 
strength  in  the  opposition.  Since  the  Democrats  had  ac- 
cepted internal  improvements,  there  were  many  of  the  op- 
position who  were  against  any  further  development  and  still 
more  who  were  indifferent  on  the  subject.  This  feeling  in  a 
lesser  degree  extended  to  common  schools  as  well.  The 
other  change  in  the  platform  is  to  be  seen  in  the  resolution 
which  follows: 

Whereas  there  exist  various  and  conflicting  opinions 
among  Whigs  and  Democrats  both  as  to  the  propriety  of 
amending  the  State  Constitution,  as  well  as  the  manner  and 
extent  to  which  amendment  should  be  made; 

Resolved,  That  in  order  that  the  paramount  principles 
of  Americanism  may  not  be  trammelled  in  the  ensuing  con- 
test by  vexed  State  questions  made  up  by  former  political 
organizations,  the  American  party,  eschewing  sectional  issues 
in  the  State  as  in  the  Union,  declare  their  purpose  of  abiding 
by  and  maintaining  the  representative  basis  of  the  present 
Constitution. 

This  resolution  was  entirely  indefinite  on  the  question  of 
amendment  and  left  opposition  leaders  free  to  oppose  any 


176  James  Spkunt  Historical,  Publications 

change.  The  Register,  throughout  the  campaign,  bitterly- 
opposed  the  adoption  of  free  suffrage  as  did  several  other 
papers  and  a  number  of  leaders. 

Only  two  names  had  been  mentioned  in  connection  with 
the  nomination,  George  Davis  and  John  A.  Gilmer,  and  the 
former  was  not  a  candidate.  For  that  matter,  neither  was 
Gilmer,  who  wrote  a  public  letter  declining  to  consider  the 
nomination,  but  when  he  was  unanimously  selected,  he  recon- 
sidered and  accepted.  The  convention  was  a  shouting,  en- 
thusiastic, and  confident  assembly  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
delegates. 

John  Adams  Gilmer  was  born  in  Guilford  County  in 
1805.  He  received  his  education  under  Dr.  Caruthers  and 
then  taught  in  Laurens  County,  South  Carolina,  for  several 
years.  Returning  to  North  Carolina  he  studied  law  under 
Judge  Murphey  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1833.  He 
faced  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  the  most  eminent 
members  of  the  North  Carolina  bar  and  his  rise  was  natur- 
ally slow;  yet  in  comparatively  few  years  he  won  a  distin- 
guished place  among  distinguished  colleagues.  In  1846  he 
was  sent  to  the  state  Senate  and  served  for  five  terms,  prov- 
ing himself  a  legislator  of  ability.  A  man  of  unusual  gen- 
iality and  charm  of  manner,  and  a  good  mixer,  he  was  widely 
popular,  and  his  choice  as  a  candidate  was  about  the  best  that 
his  party  could  have  made. 

The  Democratic  convention  met  as  usual  in  Raleigh,  as- 
sembling four  days  after  the  American  meeting  in  Greens- 
boro adjourned.  James  E.  Williams  of  Caswell,  was  tempo- 
rary chairman  and  Jesse  E.  Shepherd  of  Cumberland,  presi- 
dent. Forty-six  counties  were  represented  by  about  two 
hundred  and  seventy-five  delegates.  The  platform  endorsed 
the  principle  of  popular  sovereignty  and  commended  the 
behavior  of  Northern  Democrats  in  relation  to  slavery  and 
sectional  questions  generally.  It  condemned  the  Know- 
Nothing  party  as  dangerous  in  tendency  and  practice.  It  de- 
clared Pierce  and  Dobbin  the  choice  of  the  North  Carolina 
Democracy  for  President  and  Vice  President.     When  state 


Pakty  Politics  in  North  Carolina  177 

affairs  were  reached,  free  suffrage,  internal  improvements, 
and  common  sshools  received  hearty  and  unqualified  en- 
dorsement. Bragg  was  unanimously  renominated  and  W. 
S.  Ashe,  W.  W.  Avery,  Bedford  Brown  and  K.  R.  Heath 
were  appointed  delegates  to  the  national  convention. 

The  campaign  was  uninteresting  and  today  affords  a  de- 
pressing view  of  political  conditions  generally  in  the  State. 
According  to  the  Democrats,  the  American  party  was  a  se- 
cret society  organized  in  the  interest  of  the  abolition  move- 
ment and  controlled  entirely  by  a  small  group  of  leading 
abolitionists.  The  American  argument  was  even  more  banal. 
Democratic  success,  according  to  the  Know-Nothings,  meant 
the  absolute  control  of  American  politics  by  the  pope  with 
the  strong  likelihood  of  his  emigration  to  the  United  States 
to  become  President,  or  at  least  to  become  governor  of  North 
Carolina.  The  similarity  between  this  argument  and  those 
used  in  opposition  to  the  ratification  of  the  United  States 
Constitution  in  the  Hillsboro  convention  of  1788  is  striking. 
Every  attempt  was  now  made  to  arouse  religious  prejudice 
and  feeling  against  foreigners. 

The  slavery  question  played  probably  a  much  greater 
part  beneath  the  surface  than  is  apparent  to-day.  Not  that 
it  did  not  appear  openly.  The  assault  of  Brooks  upon  Sum- 
ner met  with  considerable  approval  and  the  Standard  said 
that  the  former  was  "indeed  a  noble  specimen  of  the  true 
Southern  gentleman."  To  so  great  an  extent  had  the  slavery 
question  debauched  the  morals  of  the  community.  The 
North  Carolina  delegation  in  Congress  also  supported  him, 
and  Reade  won  some  criticism  by  voting,  alone  of  all  the 
Southern  members  to  censure  Keith  for  his  part  in  the 
assault. 

The  opposition  still  controlled  the  major  part  of  the 
State  press  and  of  the  thirty-seven  political  papers  in  the 
State,  twenty-two  supported  Gilmer.  They  were  the  Ashe- 
ville  Spectator,  Concord  Gazette,  Greensboro  Patriot,  Char- 
lotte Whig,  Lexington  Flag,  Hillsboro  Recorder,  Raleigh 
Star,  Raleigh  Register,  Milton  Chronicle,  Weldon  Patriot, 


178  James  Speunt  Historical  Publications 

Murfreesboro  Patriot,  Elizabeth  City  Sentinel ,  Edenton  Ban- 
ner, Plymouth  Villager,  Washington  Times,  Wilmington 
Herald,  Fayetteville  Argus,  Fayetteville  Observer,  Asheboro 
Bulletin,  Salisbury  Watchman,  Salisbury  Herald,  and  Ocean 
Banner. 

Just  at  the  close  of  the  campaign  a  great  American  rally 
was  held  at  Guilford  Battle  Ground  at  which  Morehead, 
Graham,  Davis,  Rayner,  and  Henry  K.  Nash  were  speakers. 
The  proceedings  of  the  meeting,  the  enthusiasm  displayed 
here  and  elsewhere,  and  the  activity  of  the  leaders,  all  go  to 
indicate  the  hopefulness  and  indeed,  confidence  of  victory, 
which  the  opposition  unquestionably  felt.  Gilmer  made  a 
strong  campaign  and  enthusiasm  was  continuous.  But  the 
Democrats  were  excellently  organized,  North  Carolina  did 
not  like  secret  political  societies  and  the  Americans  could 
not  shake  of!  the  facts  of  its  origin,  and  Bragg  was  a  power- 
ful campaigner.  The  result  showed  a  majority  for  Bragg  of 
12,628  in  a  total  vote  of  102,568  and  the  legislature  was 
Democratic  in  both  houses,  the  majority  being  sixteen  in  the 
Senate  and  forty  in  the  House. 

The  state  campaign  out  of  the  way,  the  Democrats  enter- 
ed into  the  presidential  contest  with  great  vigor,  determined 
at  last  to  carry  the  State  which  had  not  chosen  Democratic 
electors  since  1836.  Buchanan  had  long  been  a  favorite  in 
the  State  and  Pierce's  defeat  was  probably  not  a  cause  of 
very  deep  regret.  The  opposition,  of  course,  had  no  hope  of 
carrying  the  State  and  were  divided  among  themselves.  Ken- 
neth Rayner  was  nominated  for  Vice  President  by  the  North- 
ern wing  of  the  American  party  which  seceded  from  the  con- 
vention which  nominated  Fillmore.  He  declined  to  accept 
the  nomination,  but  the  fact  of  his  nomination  served  as  a 
peg  on  which  the  Standard  and  the  Democrats  generally 
could  hang  some  more  charges  of  abolitionist  tendencies 
among  the  opposition.  In  the  closing  days  of  the  campaign 
he  went  to  Pennsylvania  where  he  made  a  number  of  speeches 
advocating  a  coalition  of  the  opposition  to  the  Democrats  in 
Pennsylvania  in  order  to  defeat  them  in  that  State.     These 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  179 

speeches  of  his  were  highly  commended  by  the  Republican 
press  and  leaders,  and,  in  consequence,  Rayner  was  bitterly 
criticised  at  home  by  the  Democrats  and  privately  by  many 
of  his  own  party. 

Probably  the  most  significant  and  interesting  happening 
of  the  presidential  campaign  in  North  Carolina  was  the 
Hedrick  case  at  the  University.  Benjamin  S.  Hedrick,  pro- 
fessor of  agricultural  chemistry,  was  a  native  of  Davidson 
County  and  an  alumnus  of  the  University.  A  product  of  an 
anti-slavery  community,  his  feeling  against  slavery  had  been 
strengthened  by  residence  in  the  North,  and  by  1856  he  had 
come  to  see  the  peculiar  institution  in  its  true  light  as  the 
greatest  burden  borne  by  the  mass  of  white  people  of  the 
South.  In  state  politics  he  was  a  Democrat  and  in  August 
voted  for  Governor  Bragg,  but  in  a  response  to  a  direct 
question,  addressed  to  him  on  election  day  by  one  of  the 
students,  he  replied  that  he  would  vote  for  Fremont  if  there 
was  an  electoral  ticket  in  the  State.  The  matter  came  to 
Holden's  ear  and  in  the  issue  of  the  Standard  of  September 
17,  he  hinted  strongly  at  the  presence  of  a  Fremont  supporter 
in  the  faculty  of  some  college  of  the  State.  On  September 
29,  he  published  a  letter  from  J.  A.  Engelhard,  then  a  law 
student  in  the  University,  signed  "Alumnus,"  in  which  he 
made  the  charge,  but  without  mentioning  Hedrick's  name, 
and  after  attacking  him  bitterly,  demanded  the  dismissal  of 
the  offending  professor  from  the  University.  Interestingly 
enough,  the  article  was  full  of  denunciation  of  the  dismissal 
of  Judge  Loring  from  the  Harvard  faculty  because  of  his  up- 
holding the  fugitive  slave  law.  Hedrick  was  a  man  of  high 
spirit  and  could  not  endure  attack  without  any  answer.  Ac- 
cordingly he  sent  his  "Defense"  to  the  Standard  which,  on 
October  4,  published  it. 

The  Defense  was  a  manly  acknowledgement  of  his  po- 
litical beliefs  and  of  his  opposition  to  slavery.  Incidentally 
his  argument  was  unanswerable.  Great  excitement  followed. 
Meetings  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  trustees  and  of 
the  faculty  followed.     The  former  was  restrained  from  im- 


180  James  Spbunt  Historical  Publications 

mediate  action  and  the  latter  drew  up  a  series  of  resolutions 
declaring  that  the  views  of  Hedrick  were  not  shared  by  the 
rest  of  the  faculty.  The  press  was  filled  with  denunciation, 
the  Standard,  of  course,  taking  the  lead.  The  trustees  were 
urged  by  popular  clamor  to  dismiss  Hedrick  peremptorily 
and  they  finally  yielded  and  October  19,  the  executive  com- 
mittee dismissed  him,  although  legally  it  had  no  power  in 
the  matter.  The  incident  stands  out  as  clear  proof  of  how  far 
slavery  had  annihilated  free  thought  and  free  speech  in  the 
South  as  well  as  in  the  North. 

Secession  was  discussed  during  the  campaign  with  more 
interest  than  ever  before  in  the  State.  Holden  was  an 
avowed  advocate  of  secession  in  the  event  of  Fremont's 
election  and  a  considerable  number  of  Democratic  leaders 
were  in  full  agreement  with  him.  Clingman  in  October 
issued  an  address  to  the  people  of  North  Carolina  in  which 
he  outlined  a  definite  plan  for  disunion  if  Fremont  should 
be  successful.  Another  indication  of  the  definite  nature 
of  the  Democratic  opinion  on  the  subject  was  the  meeting 
in  Raleigh  in  October  of  Governor  Wise  of  Virginia  and 
Governor  Adams  of  South  Carolina,  who  were  guests  of 
Governor  Bragg  ostensibly  to  attend  the  State  fair.  Other 
Southern  governors  were  expected  but  failed  to  come.  An 
informal  consultation  was  held  at  the  governor's  mansion  and 
several  prominent  men  were  invited  to  be  present,  including 
W.  W.  Holden,  M.  A.  Bledsoe,  and  L.  O'B.  Branch.  Instead 
of  being  a  radical  meeting  it  was  the  contrary,  owing  to  the 
conservative  position  taken  by  Governor  Bragg.  The  pres- 
ence of  the  two  visiting  governors  attracted  attention  and 
the  opposition  charged  that  it  was  the  conclusion  of  a  definite 
disunion  plot  and  the  press  denounced  the  supposed  "schemes 
of  treason  and  disunion,"  and  demanded  to  know  by  what 
right  governors  of  other  States  came  to  North  Carolina  to 
perfect  plots  and  thus  "hitch  North  Carolina  to  the  car  of 
disunion."  "•  Iff 

The  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Buchanan  electors 
by  a  majority  of  12,914  in  a  total  vote  of  72,060.     The  loss 


Party  Politics  in  Nokth  Carolina  181 

of  more  than  30,000  votes  in  the  total  as  compared  to  the 
state  election  can  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  Democratic 
success  was  certain  and  that  many  of  the  opposition  were  in 
sympathy  with  the  Democrats  on  national  questions  and, 
feeling  entirely  secure,  stayed  away  from  the  polls. 

When  the  legislature  met,  W.  W.  Avery  was  elected 
speaker  of  the  Senate  over  M.  L.  Wiggins  and  Jesse  G.  Shep- 
herd speaker  of  the  House  over  James  M.  Leach.  Most  of 
the  governor's  message  was  devoted  to  discussion  of  internal 
improvements  and  public  education,  but  he  commented  on 
the  alarming  political  situation  and  recommended  the  fur- 
nishing of  arms  to  military  schools. 

The  session  was  devoid  of  any  particular  interest.  The 
opposition  was  so  outnumbered  that  all  they  could  do  was  to 
try  and  call  public  attention  to  every  action  of  the  majority 
in  the  hope  that  somewhere  might  be  found  the  basis  for  pop- 
ular opposition.  They  were  particularly  angry  when  the 
speaker  of  the  Senate  refused  to  entertain  a  proposed  amend- 
ment to  the  bill  for  the  suffrage  amendment  which  was  now 
on  its  final  passage.  An  amendment  to  it  would  serve  to 
postpone  its  submission  to  the  people  for  two  more  years  and 
make  necessary  its  passage  by  another  legislature  and  it  was 
of  course  with  this  in  view  that  it  was  offered.  The  amend- 
ment bill  passed  the  Senate  thirty-nine  to  eight,  all  the  nega- 
tive votes  except  one — that  of  William  Eaton — being  cast  by 
Americans,  and  passed  the  House  ninety-eight  to  five,  all  the 
negatives  coming  from  Americans.  D.  P.  Caldwell  of  Guil- 
ford, offered  an  elaborate  protest  against  its  passage,  declar- 
ing his  opposition  to  the  principle  and  to  the  method.  His 
protest  is  an  excellent  statement  of  the  traditional  Whig  at- 
titude on  the  subject. 

The  congressional  campaign  of  1857  was  even  more  unin- 
teresting than  the  state  campaign  just  described.  A  bitter 
quarrel  between  John  W.  Syme,  the  editor  of  the  Raleigh 
Register  and  the  Hales  of  the  Fayetteville  Observer,  be- 
trayed a  certain  cleavage  of  sentiment  in  the  opposition  and 
plans  were  immediately  made  among  the  opposition  leaders 


182  James  Speunt  Historical  Publications 

either  to  drive  Syme  out  or  establish  a  new  organ  for  the 
party. 

In  the  first  district,  H.  M.  Shaw  was  again  the  demo- 
cratic candidate  and  Robert  T.  Paine  declining  to  run  as;ain, 
W.  JL  H.  Smith  received  the  American  nomination  but  was 
defeated.  In  the  second  Thomas  Ruffin  was  elected  without 
opposition  as  were  Winslow,  Branch,  and  Craige  in  the 
third,  fourth,  and  seventh  respectively.  S.  E.  Williams 
was  the  Democratic  candidate  in  the  fifth,  opposed  by 
Maurice  Q.  Waddell  of  Chatham  and  John  A.  Gilmer,  both 
Americans.  The  case  of  the  last  two  was  finally  submitted 
to  a  committee  which  decided  in  favor  of  Gilmer,  and  Wad- 
dell withdrew.  Gilmer  was  elected.  Reade,  the  sitting  mem- 
ber, had  refused  to  be  a  candidate.  In  the  sixth  A.  M.  Scales 
defeated  R.  C.  Puryear  and  in  the  eighth  Clingman  defeated 
Z.  B.  Vance,  who  was  now  forging  to  the  front  as  a  power 
in  western  politics. 

The  free  suffrage  amendment  was  submitted  to  the  peo- 
ple at  this  election  and  in  a  total  vote  of  69,477  received  a 
majority  of  30,713  and  thus  became  a  part  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. 

The  general  results  showed  small  encouragement  to  the 
opposition  to  further  connection  with  the  American  move- 
ment, and  from  this  time  it  rapidly  disappeared. 


CHAPTEE  XVI 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1858 

During  the  Fall  of  1857  there  was  much  discussion  of 
distribution  and  it  was  evident  that  many  Democrats  were 
seriously  inclining  towards  that  policy.  Walter  F.  Leak 
made  a  formal  announcement  of  his  candidacy  for  governor 
on  that  issue,  and  Duncan  K.  McRae  of  IsTew  Bern,  was 
known  to  favor  the  policy.  It  was,  however,  early  evident 
that  the  Democratic  party  would  maintain  its  traditional 
stand  in  opposition.  Of  course,  the  question  had  no  real 
bearing  on  state  affairs  directly,  since  its  decision  was  purely 
national,  but  once  more  state  issues  had  disappeared  and 
national  questions  dominated  state  politics  to  the  great  detri- 
ment of  the  State. 

In  January,  McRae  made  speeches  at  Wilmington,  Fay- 
etteville,  Goldsboro,  Raleigh  and  Hillsboro  in  which  he  ad- 
vocated distribution.  At  this  time  he  was  uncertain  if  he 
would  be  a  candidate  for  governor,  and  was  undoubtedly 
waiting  to  see  what  action  would  be  taken  by  the  Democratic 
party.  So  far  as  the  candidates  for  the  regular  Democratic 
nomination  were  concerned,  a  movement  for  Holden  had  ap- 
peared early  in  1857  and  had  gained  strength  steadily. 

This  did  not  at  all  suit  the  plans  and  calculations  of  the 
dominant  forces  in  the  party.  Holden  was  easily  the  strong- 
est leader  in  the  party  but  he  was  disliked  by  a  large  number, 
and  the  more  aristocratic  elements  were  bitterly  opposed  to 
him  and  feared  his  policies  as  well  as  his  personal  power. 
Another  very  serious  threat  to  his  chances  lay  in  the  strength 
in  the  Democratic  party  of  the  Whigs  who  had  recently  join- 
ed and  who  still  hated  him  for  his  apostacy — or,  in  other 
words,  for  doing  early  the  very  same  things  they  had  done 
late. 

All  the  elements  of  opposition  looked  about  for  a  candi- 
date and  finally  found  one  in  Judge  John  W.  Ellis,  who 
declined  to  leave  the  bench  or  to  be  a  candidate,  but  who 


184  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

was  known  to  be  willing  to  accept  the  nomination.  Jesse  G. 
Shepherd  was  spoken  of  for  the  nomination  but  developed 
little  strength.  W.  W.  Avery,  who  was  very  popular  in  the 
west,  developed  considerable  strength  and  was  regarded  se- 
riously by  the  other  candidates.  Judge  S.  J.  Person  was 
endorsed  by  several  counties,  but  refused  to  allow  the  use  of 
his  name.  A.  W.  Venable's  name  was  also  constantly  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  the  nomination. 

The  Democratic  executive  committee  called  the  conven- 
tion to  meet  at  Charlotte.  This  caused  great  surprise  and 
in  the  east  great  dissatisfaction.  It  was  regarded  as  a  stroke 
in  favor  of  Ellis'  candidacy,  and  Holden's  friends  were  very 
fearful  of  its  effects  upon  his  candidacy. 

In  the  contest  which  followed  and  which  was  the  first 
pre-convention  campaign  in  the  political  history  of  the 
State,  a  great  deal  of  bitterness  developed  and  at  times  it 
seemed  certain  that  a  compromise  candidate  would  be  nomi- 
nated. As  was  to  be  expected  the  Democratic  press  of  the 
State  took  an  active  part  in  this  campaign.  Among  others 
the  Charlotte  Western  Democrat,  Winston  Western  Sentinel, 
Fayetteville  Argus,  Goldsboro  Tribune,  Warrenton  News, 
and  Williamston  Banner  were  for  Holden,  while  the  Wil- 
mington Journal,  Salisbury  Banner  and  Elizabeth  City  Pio- 
neer were  for  Ellis. 

Even  the  opposition  press  took  sides,  usually  in  a  sar- 
castic way,  but  sometimes  in  earnest.  The  Register  said  in 
April,  "Although  not  entitled  to  a  seat  in  the  Democratic 
pew,  we  have  all  along  been  a  strong  Holden  man.  We 
think  he  is  entitled  to  the  nomination  and  are  of  opinion  that 
it  would  be  a  burning  shame  if  one  who  has  spent  his  life 
in  making  great  big  men  out  of  the  very  smallest  sort  of 
materials  should  be  refused  the  reasonable  reward  he  so 
urgently  seeks." 

The  Fayetteville  Observer,  after  quoting  part  of  the  first 
scene  of  the  fourth  act  of  Julius  Caesar,  said,  "Mr.  Holden 
'is  a  tried  and  valiant  soldier'  who  has  'groaned  and  sweat 
under  the  business'  until  he  has  made  the  Democratic  party 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  185 

all  powerful  in  North  Carolina.  Without  him  these  Demo- 
cratic lawyers  would  never  have  been  judges.  Governors, 
Congressmen,  legislators — would  have  been  scarcely  heard 
of.  But  the  work  is  done.  And  when  he  or  his  friends  for 
him  ask  a  participation  in  the  honors  of  the  victory,  it  is  only 
natural,  now  as  then,  that  his  creatures  should  'take  down 
his  load  and  turn  him  like  the  empty  ass,  to  shake  his  ears 
and  graze  in  commons.'  How  dare  an  editor  of  a  newspaper, 
a  man  who  has  worked  with  his  own  hands,  aspire  to  reward 
from  the  Democratic  party  ?" 

Both  candidates  behaved  with  dignity  in  this  period.  The 
Standard  was  entirely  impartial  and  a  stranger  would  not 
have  known  that  it  was  Holden's  paper.  As  the  time  for  the 
convention  came  both  sides  became  more  confident.  It  was 
practically  a  certainty  that  Avery  would  withdraw  and  it 
was  thought  that  Holden  would  get  his  strength.  Holden  was 
placing  his  chief  reliance  in  Avery's  strength  and  there  is  no 
shadow  of  a  doubt  that  if  the  modern  device  of  a  primary 
had  been  employed  that  he  would  have  been  overwhelmingly 
chosen.  But  the  mass  of  the  party  had  no  direct  control  and 
the  nomination  was  dictated  by  politicians.  The  Register 
said  that  the  reason  Ellis  received  such  strong  support  from 
lawyers  was  clear — every  one  of  them  expected  to  be  chosen 
to  fill  the  judgeship  he  would  vacate. 

When  the  convention  finally  came  there  was  a  great  out- 
pouring to  Charlotte.  The  convention  assembled  on  April 
14  and  organized  with  Capt.  John  Walker  of  Charlotte, 
"The  Wheelhorse  of  Democracy,"  as  temporary  chairman 
and  C.  M.  Avery  of  Burke,  as  president.  It  was  the  largest 
convention  that  had  been  held  in  the  State  to  that  time.  Fifty- 
nine  counties  were  represented  by  454  delegates  in  person 
and  twelve  other  counties  were  represented  by  proxies.  This 
left  only  four  counties  unrepresented. 

The  most  noticeable  thing  about  the  delegates  was  the 
startling  number  of  recent  Whigs,  some  of  whom  were  ex- 
ceedingly prominent  and  influential  in  the  convention. 

The  platform  commended  the  administrations  of  Presi- 


186  James  Speunt  Historical  Publications 

dent  Buchanan  and  Governor  Bragg  and  endorsed  the  policy 
of  internal  improvements.  Concerning  distribution  it  had 
the  following  to  say :  "That  we  regard  the  distribution  of  the 
public  lands  or  their  proceeds  as  unconstitutional,  anti-Demo- 
cratic, and  impolitic,  and  its  agitation  at  this  time  as  emi- 
nently unpatriotic  because  being  wholly  impracticable,  the 
sole  tendency  of  such  agitation  must  be  to  divide  and  distract 
the  only  party  upon  which  the  South  can  rely  for  the  defense 
of  her  rights  and  interests  in  the  Union." 

After  the  adoption  of  the  platform  attention  turned  to 
the  nomination  of  a  candidate.  It  was  certain  by  this  time 
that  Ellis  had  a  simple  majority,  but  Holden' s  supporters 
thought  that  if  the  two-thirds  rule  could  be  adopted  that  their 
candidate  would  win.  The  motion,  however,  was  tabled  by 
a  small  majority.  If  adopted,  it  would  probably  have  de- 
feated both  candidates.  By  this  time  Avery  had  formally 
withdrawn,  so  the  contest  was  between  Holden  and  Ellis. 
After  the  failure  of  the  motion,  Ellis  was  nominated  on 
the  first  ballot,  receiving  the  vote  of  forty  counties  against 
twenty-seven  for  Holden.  The  official  vote  stood  25,051  to 
21,594,  with  1,203  scattering.  Holden  took  his  defeat  well 
and  at  once  urged  his  friends  to  activity  in  behalf  of  the 
ticket.  This  was  a  disappointment  to  the  Whigs,  who  had 
confidently  predicted  a  serious  breach  in  party  solidarity  as 
a  result  of  this  contest  within  the  party,  a  new  thing  in  North 
Carolina  politics. 

John  Willis  Ellis  was  a  native  of  what  is  now  Davidson 
County,  but  was  then  Rowan.  He  was  educated  at  Bandolph- 
Macon  College  and  at  the  University,  graduating  from  the 
latter  in  1841.  Studying  law  under  Judge  Pearson,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1842.  In  1844  he  was  elected  to  the 
House  of  Commons  and  was  re-elected  in  1846  and  1848. 
While  a  member  of  the  legislature  he  was  elected  judge  and 
thus  had  been  on  the  bench  for  ten  years.  There  he  had  made 
a  fine  reputation  in  spite  of  his  inexperience  when  he  was 
chosen.    He  was  a  man  of  no  exceptional  ability,  but  was  uni- 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  187 

versally  popular  because  of  his  genial  and  charming  manner 
and  because  of  his  entire  sincerity  in  every  relation. 

In  the  meantime  a  sharp  division  of  sentiment  had  taken 
place  in  the  press  and  in  the  ranks  of  the  opposition  as 
to  the  proper  course  for  the  party  to  pursue  in  relation  to 
the  campaign.  One  faction,  headed  by  the  Register,  favored 
support  of  an  independent  Democrat  without  holding  a  con- 
vention; the  other  headed  by  the  Greensboro  Patriot  and 
Flag,  favored  united  party  action  through  a  convention  and 
the  nomination  of  one  of  their  own  party.  Leak  had  with- 
drawn in  February,  so  McRae  was  the  only  independent 
Democrat  discussed  for  support.  Agreeing  with  the  Register 
were  the  following  papers  which,  as  a  Western  Whig  editor 
said,  had  "gone  over  to  the  Beast" :  the  Wilmington  Herald, 
Weldon  Patriot,  Salisbury  Watchman,  Kinston  Advocate, 
Newbern  Express,  Salem  Press  and  Louisburg  Eagle;  while 
those  which  with  the  Patriot  and  Flag  favored  independent 
action  were  the  Asheville  Spectator  and  Elizabeth  City 
Sentinel.  Their  view  was  expressed  in  the  following  com- 
ment of  the  Patriot  and  Flag :  "So  far  as  we  are  concerned, 
we  can  never  consent  to  see  the  great  American  Whig  party — 
strong  in  numbers,  strong  in  intellect,  strong  in  the  correct- 
ness of  its  principles  and  the  justice  of  its  cause,  consent  to 
enter  into  a  fight  headed  by  a  Democrat." 

The  convention  advocates  finally  called  upon  Henry  W. 
Miller,  chairman  of  the  executive  committee,  to  call  a  meeting 
of  the  committee  for  the  purpose  of  calling  a  convention.  He 
replied  that  since  the  last  campaign  there  was  no  committee 
and  that  he  had  no  power  in  the  matter.  As  it  was  usual  for 
the  party  executive  committee  to  last  from  convention  to  con- 
vention this  answer  excited  comment  and  question,  and  the 
Standard  hinted  that  possibly  a  change  of  heart  politically 
on  the  part  of  the  chairman  was  the  explanation.  In  April, 
on  the  question  of  Southern  rights,  Miller  declared  himself 
a  supporter  of  Buchanan's  administration  and  because  of  his 
opposition  to  the  principles  of  "Black  Republicanism"  de- 


188  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

clared  his  intention  of  acting  in  the  future  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party. 

On  April  26  McRae  declared  himself  a  candidate  for 
governor  on  the  issue  of  distribution.  He  also  expressed  his 
opposition  to  any  further  increase  of  the  State  debt  for  new 
internal  improvements  and  asked  for  non-partisan  support. 
In  other  respects  he  was  frankly  still  a  Democrat  in  belief. 
But  like  the  Democrats  of  the  old  school  he  was  lukewarm, 
if  not  indeed  hostile,  to  state-supported  internal  improve- 
ments and  this  won  him  additional  favor  from  the  Whigs, 
who  were  relapsing  into  the  former  Democratic  attitude  in 
the  same  proportion  that  the  Democrats  occupied  the  former 
Whig  position.  In  consequence  he  received  the  support  of 
the  Whigs. 

The  campaign  was  extended  and  given  up  almost  entire- 
ly to  the  discussion  of  distribution  and  possible  further  ex- 
tension of  the  system  of  internal  improvements.  In  the  pre- 
ceding legislature  the  Whigs  had  shown  a  tendency  to  op- 
pose the  western  extension  and  this  question  figured  largely 
in  the  campaign.  The  contest  waxed  warm  at  times  and 
Ellis  and  McRae  actually  came  to  blows  at  Beaufort. 

In  May  Asa  Biggs  was  appointed  United  States  district 
judge  to  succeed  Judge  Henry  Potter  who,  after  a  service  of 
56  years,  had  died  the  year  before,  and  Governor  Bragg  at 
once  appointed  Clingman  to  succeed  Biggs  in  the  Senate. 
Thomas  Lanier  Clingman  was  born  in  that  part  of  Surry 
County  which  has  since  become  Yadkin,  in  1812.  He  gradu- 
ated from  the  University  in  1832  and  studied  law  and  in 
1835  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Commons  from  Surry.  He 
then  moved  to  Buncombe  and  in  1840  was  elected  to  the  state 
Senate.  In  1843  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  was  defeated 
for  re-election  by  James  Graham,  but  was  again  elected  in 
1847  and  had  served  there  ever  since.  As  will  be  remember- 
ed he  had  left  the  Whig  party  in  1852. 

Clingman's  promotion  to  the  Senate,  left  a  vacancy  in 
the  mountain  district  and  a  warm  contest  took  place  there 
between  W.  W.  Avery  and  Zebulon  B.  Vance. 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  189 

The  result  of  the  election  was  never  in  doubt  during  the 
campaign.  Ellis'  majority  was  16,383  in  a  total  vote  of 
96,475,  the  legislature  was  Democratic  with  a  majority  of 
fourteen  in  the  Senate  and  forty-four  in  the  House,  and 
Vance  defeated  Avery  with  a  majority  of  more  than  two 
thousand. 

During  the  autumn  a  most  interesting  political  struggle 
developed.  Holden's  defeat  emboldened  to  open  opposition 
many  of  his  party  who  disliked  him  but  had  hitherto  feared 
him  too  much  to  attack  him.  From  every  quarter  came  at- 
tacks upon  him  and  accusations  of  disloyalty  to  Ellis  and  to 
the  party.  Holden,  as  has  been  said,  had  behaved  very  well, 
accepting  his  defeat  with  good  grace  rather  than  otherwise 
and  giving  to  Ellis  very  loyal  support.  All  this  counted  for 
nothing  in  the  desire  of  his  enemies  to  crush  him.  The  fight 
was  redoubled  when  it  became  evident  that  his  name  would 
be  presented  to  the  legislature  for  election  to  the  United 
States  Senate.  Here  begins  the  breach  between  Holden  and 
the  States'  Rights  Democracy  which  he  had  organized  and 
led,  a  breach  which  in  time,  although  he  was  the  foremost 
advocate  of  secession,  drove  him  into  the  ranks  of  Union 
men  simply  because  of  the  efforts  of  his  enemies  in  his  own 
party. 

His  first  step  was  rather  towards  closer  relations  with 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  party.  He  became  an  earnest  advo- 
cate of  the  popular  election  of  judges  and  endorsed  heartily 
the  movement  for  ad  valorem  taxation  which  was  really  di- 
rected against  property  in  slaves,  and  endorsed  at  first  the 
movement  in  Wake  County  which  led  to  the  organization  of 
the  Wake  County  Workingmen's  Association  which  was  the 
most  active  organization  for  a  reform  in  taxation. 

When  the  legislature  met  Henry  T.  Clark  of  Edgecombe, 
was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  Senate  over  Ralph  Gorrell  of 
Guilford,  and  Thomas  Settle,  speaker  of  the  House,  over  Den- 
nis D.  Ferebee.  The  matter  of  first  interest  before  the  body 
was  the  election  of  senator.  During  the  autumn  the  State 
had  been  full  of  the  rumor  of  a  combine  which  was  said  to 

13 


190  James  Speunt  Historical  Publications 

have  existed  between  Clingman,  Holden,  Biggs  and  Bragg 
by  which  Holden  was  to  be  elected  governor,  Biggs  was  to 
resign  from  the  Senate  to  go  on  the  federal  bench,  Clingman 
was  to  be  appointed  by  Bragg  to  succeed  him  and  Bragg  him- 
self was  to  be  elected  to  the  Senate  to  succeed  Reid. 

The  story  may  or  may  not  be  true.  In  any  event  the 
failure  of  Holden  to  secure  the  nomination  for  governor 
broke  the  plan  somewhat.  He  was  told  by  his  friends  that 
the  "combine"  had  not  acted  fairly  by  him  and  was  urged 
to  contest  with  Bragg  for  the  place  in  the  Senate.  He  finally 
consented  after  his  relations  with  Governor  Bragg  had  be- 
come much  strained.  Before  the  legislature  met  he  resigned 
from  the  Literary  Board  to  which  Bragg  had  appointed  him. 
But  the  opposition  to  him  was  too  strong  and  on  the  first 
ballot  the  vote  stood :  Bragg,  40 ;  Holden,  36 ;  Reid,  18.  On 
the  second  ballot  Reid's  friends  who  were  angry  with  Holden 
for  entering  the  contest,  went  for  Bragg  and  the  vote  was 
Bragg,  58 ;  Holden,  36.  Holden  was  later  rather  regretful 
that  he  had  opposed  Reid  even  in  this  way.  Bragg  was  thus 
elected  to  succeed  Reid,  who  was  greatly  hurt  by  his  defeat, 
and  Clingman  succeeded  himself. 

The  session  lasted  ninety-five  days,  the  longest  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  General  Assembly  to  that  time.  It  had  no  record 
of  achievement  corresponding.  Its  early  days  were  spent  in 
selecting  the  senators,  everything  else  of  course  being  subor- 
dinated and  it  spent  a  large  part  of  its  later  time  in  discus- 
sion of  the  Danville  Connection.  In  1848,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, application  had  been  made  for  a  charter  for  a  road 
from  Greensboro  to  Danville  and  in  this  legislature  the  pro- 
position was  renewed  through  the  influence  of  John  M.  More- 
head,  who  was  a  member  of  the  legislature.  A  tremendous 
fight  followed  directed  at  first  against  the  proposition  on  its 
merits  and  gradually  developing  into  an  attack  on  Governor 
Morehead  who  was  known  to  be  the  author  and  inspiration 
of  the  bill.  The  East  felt  that  the  North  Carolina  Railroad 
would  suffer,  and  against  the  proposition  were  arrayed  the 
Standard,  the  Register,  and  a  large  number  of  prominent 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  191 

men  including  R.  R.  Bridgers,  W.  T.  Dortch,  Pride  Jones, 
John  W.  Norwood  and  Dennis  D.  Ferrebee.  Morehead  en- 
dured the  personal  attacks  for  five  days  and  then  rose  to 
make  one  of  the  most  remarkable,  powerful,  and  successful 
personal  defenses  in  the  legislative  history  of  North  Carolina. 
The  Danville  Connection,  however,  was  defeated. 

A  proposition  for  a  convention  of  the  people  then  came 
up  and  was  defeated,  as  was  a  resolution,  introduced  by  M. 
A.  Bledsoe  of  Wake,  looking  to  the  ad  valorem  taxation  of 
all  property,  but  which  had  for  its  chief  purpose  the  imposi- 
tion on  slave  property  of  some  adequate  and  equitable  share 
of  the  tax  burden. 

Jonathan  Worth,  who  was  a  Whig  member  of  the  Senate, 
brought  in  a  report  on  the  condition  of  the  Western  North 
Carolina  Railroad  which  reflected  bitterly  upon  the  manage- 
ment of  its  president,  Charles  P.  Fisher.  Fisher  replied  and 
a  war  of  words  ensued  lasting  for  nearly  two  years  in  which 
politics  played  as  large  a  part  as  the  railroad  question. 

Ellis's  inaugural  related  chiefly  to  internal  improvements 
in  which  he  had  always  been  deeply  interested,  but,  in  a  some- 
what conservative  way,  it  also  touched  upon  the  question  of 
the  protection  of  States'  rights.  The  allusion  is  as  follows: 
"We  are  not  prepared  for  the  acknowledgment  that  we  can- 
not enjoy  all  our  constitutional  rights  in  the  Union.  Should 
that  day  unfortunately  come,  but  little  doubt  need  be  enter- 
tained that  our  people  will  act  as  best  comports  with  their 
interests  and  honor  and  with  the  sacred  memories  of  the  past 
to  whatever  the  result  may  lead." 

At  the  close  of  the  session  the  opposition  appointed  a 
state  executive  committee  and  began  preparations  for  an 
active  congressional  campaign.  The  year  was  interesting 
politically.  Holden's  struggle  with  his  enemies,  particularly 
those  in  Wake  County  where  he  was  engaged  in  a  bitter 
fight  with  Cantwell  and  Whitaker,  two  rival  editors,  continu- 
ed and  caught  the  attention  of  the  whole  State  without  re- 
gard to  party.  The  most  popular  accusation  made  against 
him  was  of  attempted  domination  and  the  following  editorial 


192  James  Spkunt  Histokical  Publications 

comment  of  the  Standard  was  so  misinterpreted  as  to  form 
a  base  for  the  charge :  "The  Standard  speaks  the  sentiments, 
and  has  the  confidence  of  the  Democratic  masses  of  the  State, 
and  because  of  this,  and  for  no  other  reason,  it  can  kill  and 
make  alive." 

When  Postmaster  General  A.  V.  Brown  died  in  1859  it 
was  supposed  that  Reid  would  succeed  him,  but  the  condition 
of  his  health  stood  in  the  way  and  President  Buchanan  tele- 
graphed an  offer  of  the  position  to  L.  O'B.  Branch.  The 
latter  was  out  of  reach  and  did  not  receive  it  and  the  Presi- 
dent appointed  Joseph  Holt.  In  December,  1860,  when 
Howell  Cobb,  on  account  of  the  secession  of  Georgia,  resigned 
as  secretary  of  the  treasury,  Buchanan  offered  the  place  to 
Branch,  who  declined  to  accept. 

The  Standard  and  the  Register  were  carrying  on  their 
usual  warfare  and  the  latter  became  so  bitter  and  so  hostile 
to  the  administration  and  the  Democratic  party  that  it  finally 
was  able  to  say,  "The  Standard  asks  who  we  will  support 
for  the  presidency.  We  answer  that  we  will  support  any  op- 
ponent of  rotten  and  corrupt  Democracy  who  is  not  an  aboli- 
tionist or  Black  Republican;  and  furthermore,  we  say  that 
as  between  an  abolitionist  or  Black  Republican  and  a  Demo- 
crat we  will  make  no  choice." 

The  congressional  elections  were  dominated  by  the  sec- 
tional agitation.  In  the  first  district,  W.  S",  H.  Smith,  who 
was  again  the  Whig  candidate,  defeated  H.  M.  Shaw.  Thomas 
Ruffin  was  re-elected  in  the  second  without  opposition.  Win- 
slow  was  unsuccessfully  opposed  in  the  third  by  M.  J.  Mc- 
Duffie,  an  independent  Democrat.  In  the  fourth  Linn  B. 
Saunders,  another  independent  Democrat,  was  defeated  by 
Branch.  In  the  fifth  there  was  the  same  array  of  candi- 
dates as  two  years  before,  S.  E.  Williams  being  the  Demo- 
cratic candidate,  John  A.  Gilmer  the  Whig,  and  M.  Q.  Wad- 
dell  an  independent  Whig.  Gilmer  was  elected.  A.  M. 
Scales  was  defeated  by  James  M.  Leach,  the  Whig  candidate 
in  the  sixth.  In  the  seventh  Burton  Craige  was  re-elected 
over  S.  H.  Walkup,  who  was  nominated  by  the  Whigs  and 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  193 

declined,  then  reconsidered  and  ran.  Vance  was  again  suc- 
cessful in  the  eighth,  defeating  David  Coleman  who  had 
withdrawn  from  the  campaign  two  years  before  in  favor  of 
Avery.  The  Whigs  had  thus  elected  four  members  of  Con- 
gress and  were  highly  pleased  with  the  result.  The  total 
vote  in  the  elections,  however,  showed  a  Democratic  majority 
of  5,934. 

When  Congress  met  in  December  a  deadlock  ensued 
which  lasted  until  February.  Gilmer  came  very  near  to  elec- 
tion as  speaker  at  one  time  and  at  another  Smith  was  elected, 
but  before  the  result  was  announced  several  members  from 
Pennsylvania  changed  their  votes.  He  could  at  any  time  have 
secured  the  election  if  he  would  have  agreed  to  allow  the 
Pennsylvania  changed  their  votes.  He  could  at  any  time  have 
and  means,  which  they  wanted  packed  in  favor  of  a  protec- 
tive tariff,  but  he  did  not  care  to  have  it  on  such  terms, 
and  William  Pennington,  a  New  Jersey  ^Republican  who 
was  serving  his  first  and  last  term  in  Congress,  was  chosen. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1860 

The  Whigs,  highly  delighted  with  the  result  of  the  con- 
gressional elections  of  1859,  nerved  themselves  to  further 
achievements,  and  determined  to  carry  the  election  of  1860. 
The  executive  committee  at  once  summoned  a  state  conven- 
tion to  meet  in  Raleigh  in  February  and  county  meetings 
followed.  It  soon  became  evident  that  a  considerable  ele- 
ment of  the  party  favored  adoption  of  the  principle  of  ad 
valorem  taxation  as  a  party  issue  likely  to  carry  the  elec- 
tion. It  was  equally  clear  that  the  Democratic  party  would 
not  accept  it. 

The  Whig  convention  met  on  February  22.  R.  C.  Pur- 
year  was  president  of  the  meeting.  It  was  a  large  and  en- 
thusiastic body  of  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  delegates  rep- 
resenting fifty-three  counties.  John  Pool  of  Pasquotank, 
Alfred  Dockery  and  George  Davis  were  the  only  persons 
mentioned  for  the  nomination  and  the  first  mentioned  was 
chosen  unanimously.  William  A.  Graham  was  endorsed  for 
the  presidential  nomination.  The  platform  advocated  ad 
valorem  taxation  of  all  property,  demanded  a  convention  of 
the  people  to  make  that  and  other  necessary  changes  in  the 
constitution,  proclaimed  the  devotion  of  the  party  to  the 
Union  and  demanded  its  preservation,  and  bitterly  con- 
demned the  Democratic  administrations,  state  and  national. 

John  Pool,  the  nominee  for  governor,  was  born  in  Pas- 
quotank in  1826.  He  graduated  at  the  University  in  1847 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  the  same  year.  He  was  imme- 
diately very  successful  in  his  profession  and  became  known 
as  one  of  the  strongest  lawyers  in  his  section  of  the  State. 
He  had  been  a  member  of  the  state  Senate  in  1856  and  in 
1858  where  he  had  been  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  opposition 
and  had  won  some  reputation.  He  was  a  cool,  self-reliant, 
ambitious  and  utterly  unscrupulous  man  who  was  willing  to 
win  on  any  terms. 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  195 

The  party  was  by  no  means  united  on  its  chief  issue  as 
many  Whigs  were  utterly  opposed  and  even  Pool  himself 
had  opposed  it  and  voted  against  it  in  the  Legislature  of 
1858.  Kenneth  Rayner  was  a  strong  opponent  of  the  policy 
from  the  time  it  was  proposed  in  the  county  meetings.  Writ- 
ing to  Judge  Puffin  in  February  he  said, 

Well  the  convention  of  the  "opposition"  party  has  come  off 
and  they  have  passed  a  resolution  in  favor  of  ad  valorem  tax- 
ation and  recommending  a  convention  to  change  the  Consti- 
tution so  as  to  enable  the  Legislature  to  pass  such  a  tax  bill. 
I  voted  against  it  and  I  will  not  sustain,  but  will  oppose  it 
before  my  people.  Mr.  Badger  made  a  speech  in  favor  of  it 
and  Graham  who  was  here  is  also  in  favor  of  it.  It  was 
carried  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  many  Eastern  men 
voting  for  it.  I  wish  I  could  tell  you  and  talk  to  you.  I 
could  tell  you  many  things  about  influences  which  have  been 
at  work  that  would  astonish  you.  As  to  the  effect  of  this 
thing — as  to  the  prospect  of  its  being  engrafted  on  our  State 
policy — all  now  depends  upon  the  action  of  the  Democratic 
convention,  to  meet  here  on  the  8th  of  March.  I  have  con- 
versed with  several  prominent  Democrats  and  I  think  they 
are  inclined  to  oppose  it.  If  the  Democratic  convention  also 
endorses  it,  of  course  the  measure  will  go  through  the  next 
Legislature  with  but  little  resistance.  If  the  Democratic 
convention  takes  ground  against  it,  there  will  be  to  a  very 
considerable  extent  a  re-organization  or  recasting  of  parties. 
You  insisted  on  my  staying  and  attending  the  convention 
of  my  party  to  oppose  this  thing,  and  I  was  in  great  measure 
influenced  by  your  wishes.  Now  I  beg  of  you  to  attend  the 
convention  of  your  party  for  the  same  purpose.  I  think  the 
prominent  Democrats  are  disposed  to  take  ground  against 
the  measure,  but  they  are  evidently  alarmed  and  need  the 
strengthening  influence  of  able,  calm  and  dispassionate  men 
of  their  party.  By  coming  down  here  and  attending  the  con- 
vention you  may  prevent  the  carrying  out  of  this  mischievous 
and  pernicious  measure — for  such  I  regard  it. 

In  March  Kayner  wrote  again : 

As  I  wrote  you  before,  I  am  most  decidedly  opposed  to  this 
notion  of  ad  valorem  taxation,  as  proposed  to  the  late  oppo- 


196  James  Spkunt  Historical  Publications 

sition  convention  in  this  place,  and  I  intend  to  oppose  it  with 
all  the  power  and  influence  I  possess. 

What  I  have  to  ask  of  you  is  this — to  sit  down  when  you 
have  a  leisure  hour,  and  write  down  the  objections  to  this 
measure  in  the  way  it  strikes  you  most  forcibly — of  course 
I  do  not  wish  to  tax  you  so  far  as  to  write  all  the  minute 
details  of  the  subject;  but  what  I  desire  is  that  you  will 
present  the  salient  points  of  the  argument. 

Having  been  a  member  of  the  Convention  of  1835 — and 
therefore  in  a  measure  one  of  the  parties  to  the  compact  or 
compromise  entered  into  on  this  subject,  I  feel  that  I  am  par- 
ticularly called  on  to  resist  this  measure. 

When  the  election  came  Rayner  voted  the  Democratic 
ticket,  declaring  that  the  Constitutional  Union  party  was  only 
a  negation. 

On  the  other  hand  Democrats  were  favorable  to  ad 
valorem,  including  for  some  time  W.  W.  Holden.  But  after 
the  Whig  convention  he  was  silent  and  finally  opposed  it. 

The  Democratic  convention  met  at  Raleigh,  March  8. 
About  three  hundred  delegates  attended,  representing  sixty- 
one  counties.  W.  W.  Avery  was  temporary  chairman  and 
David  S.  Reid  president.  The  platform  was  entirely  South- 
ern in  the  extreme  sense  and  contained  a  distinct  secession 
threat.  Its  reply  to  the  Whig  demand  for  ad  valorem  taxa- 
tion was  a  straddle — an  endorsement  of  equality  of  taxation 
within  the  limits  of  the  constitution — a  most  comfortable 
statement  that  might  be  interpreted  as  conditions  required 
to  mean  anything  or  everything.  Governor  Ellis  was  re- 
nominated without  opposition  and  W.  W.  Avery,  W.  W. 
Holden,  Bedford  Brown  and  W.  S.  Ashe  were  chosen  dele- 
gates to  the  national  convention. 

The  joint  debate  was  a  heated  one  devoted  largely  to  the 
state  issue  in  spite  of  Ellis'  efforts  to  keep  national  questions 
to  the  fore.  The  Whigs  had  a  powerful  argument  in  the 
inequality  of  the  taxation  system  in  favor  of  the  slaveholders. 
The  Workingmen's  Association  had  put  forth  statistics  to 
show  that  187,842  slaves,  worth  $112,568,800  went  untaxed, 
while  those  taxed,  at  the  poll  rate  of  50  cents,  159,925  in 


Paety  Politics  in  North  Carolina  197 

number  and  worth  $139,000,000,  paid  only  $75,462.  The 
same  amount  in  taxes  would  be  paid  by  $31,000,000,  loaned 
out  while  the  slaves  on  whom  it  was  paid  were  valued  at 
$250,000,000.  The  discrimination  is  apparent.  It  was 
evident  in  other  ways.  Land  worth  $1,000  paid  a  tax  of 
$1.50  and  a  negro  worth  $1,800  yielded  to  the  State  only 
50  cents.  It  is  evident  that  the  issue  was  not  a  genuine  party 
issue,  but  one  between  slaveholders  and  non-slaveholders. 
But  for  the  situation  of  national  affairs  undoubtedly  a  new 
alignment  of  parties  would  have  resulted  and  since  the  non- 
slaveholders  were  in  the  great  majority,  the  ultimate  issue 
is  not  at  all  uncertain.  The  Whigs  had  made  no  demand  for 
any  exemptions  and  Ellis  used  this  very  cleverly  to  arouse 
the  people  against  the  plan,  telling  them  that  ovens,  pots, 
pans,  chickens,  and  eggs  would  be  taxed.  He  had  on  his 
side  the  settled  disinclination  of  North  Carolinians,  suspi- 
cious then  as  now,  to  meddle  with  the  existing  tax  system 
even  when  relief  is  promised  to  the  masses.  The  Whigs  of 
course  had  a  very  powerful  argument  in  the  fact  that  North 
Carolina  was  the  only  Southern  State  that  did  not  tax  slaves 
as  property. 

The  interposition  of  the  national  campaign  alone  saved 
Ellis  from  defeat  if  we  may  judge  from  the  material  now 
available  on  the  subject.  Pool  was  a  stronger  man  on  the 
stump,  was  a  stronger  man  in  intellect  and  power  generally, 
and  he  had  the  popular  and  equitable  side  of  the  question  at 
issue.  Many  Whigs  had  come  into  the  Democratic  party  on 
account  of  the  national  situation,  for  John  Brown's  raid  was 
dominating  national  politics  in  the  State,  but  the  state  issue 
had  won  a  considerable  number  of  Democrats  away  from 
their  party,  most  of  them  from  the  non-slaveholding  class. 
Ellis  had  a  majority  of  6,340  in  a  total  vote  of  112,586  and 
the  Democrats  won  the  legislature  with  a  majority  of  twelve 
in  the  Senate  and  ten  in  the  House. 

Returning  now  to  the  national  campaign,  it  will  be  re- 
membered that  the  Democratic  convention  met  at  Charleston 
in  April.    W.  W.  Avery  was  chairman  of  the  platform  com- 


198  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

mittee  and  presented  the  majority  report  and  defended  it 
in  a  speech.  Holden  was  prominent  in  the  convention  and 
made  a  Union  speech.  W.  S.  Ashe  spoke  in  quite  the  oppo- 
site vein,  warning  the  convention  when  the  minority  report 
was  adopted  that  it  meant  the  secession  from  the  convention 
of  the  Southern  delegates,  and  Bedford  Brown  also  gave  a 
similar  warning.  When  the  delegates  from  the  Cotton  States 
withdrew,  the  North  Carolina  delegation  refused  to  go  and 
by  their  action  undoubtedly  prevented  the  withdrawal  of  the 
delegations  from  the  Border  States.  When  the  balloting  for 
the  presidential  nomination  began,  North  Carolina  voted 
thirteen  times  as  a  unit  for  R.  M.  T.  Hunter,  twelve  times 
for  Lane,  and  six  times  for  D.  S.  Dickinson.  Then,  until  the 
balloting  ceased,  her  vote  was  divided  between  Lane  and 
Douglas,  the  latter  receiving  one  vote,  that  of  R.  P.  Dick. 

When  the  convention  met  at  Baltimore,  all  the  North 
Carolina  delegation  withdrew  except  Dick,  Holden  and  J. 
W.  B.  Watson.  The  others  joined  the  seceders  in  Richmond 
and  took  part  in  the  nomination  of  Breckinridge  and  Lane. 
North  Carolina  Democrats  were  overwhelmingly  in  favor 
of  Breckinridge ;  and  while  Holden  was  for  some  time  doubt- 
ful whom  he  would  support,  he  finally  decided  to  favor  the 
Breckinridge  ticket  with  the  understanding  that  the  electors 
would  vote  for  Douglas,  if  by  doing  so  they  could  defeat 
Lincoln.  He  had  returned  from  Charleston  strongly  impress- 
ed with  the  necessity  of  preserving  the  Union  but  in  a  month 
he  was  again  arguing  in  behalf  of  secession.  Editorially  he 
said: 

But  it  is  said  that  the  Supreme  Court  may  in  the  future 
be  an  unsafe  tribunal  for  the  South;  that  the  Black  Repub- 
licans will  obtain  control  of  it  and  turn  its  decisions  against 
the  slaveholding  States.  That  may  be  so.  At  present  it  is 
certainly  a  safe  tribunal  for  the  South.  It  may  be  changed 
and  no  doubt  will  be,  if  the  Black  Republicans  should  ob- 
tain possession  of  the  Government.  But  what  of  that  ?  Must 
we  wait  until  this  change  is  made  ?  Shall  we  permit  Lincoln 
to  pervert  the  whole  power  of  the  Government  and  in  addi- 
tion to  turn  the  Supreme  Court  against  us  ?     We  are  for 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  199 

meeting  the  enemy  at  the  threshold — for  vanquishing 
him  or  being  vanquished  long  before  his  law,  his  adjudica- 
tions against  us  are  made.  If  the  people  of  the  South  are 
true  to  themselves  they  will  never  be  troubled  by  the  decisions 
of  Black  Republican  judges.  But  if  they  submit  to  the  inau- 
guration and  rule  of  Black  Republicans  they  will  bind  them- 
selves to  submit  to  the  decisions  of  abolition  courts. 

The  various  elements  in  the  country  which  could  not 
accept  the  principles  of  either  branch  of  the  Democratic  party 
or  of  the  Republican  party  met  in  April  and  organized  the 
Constitutional  Union  party  with  the  platform  "The  Constit- 
tion,  the  Union,  and  the  Enforcement  of  the  Laws,"  nomi- 
nated John  Bell  of  Tennessee,  and  Edward  Everett  of  Mass- 
achusetts. These  received  the  enthusiastic  support  of  the 
North  Carolina  Whigs  led  by  Badger  and  Graham. 

In  August  a  Douglas  convention  was  held  in  Raleigh  with 
thirty-one  counties  represented  which  chose  an  electoral 
ticket.  Douglas  was  present  and  address  the  convention. 
R.  P.  Dick  was  the  chief  leader  of  the  group  and  was  assisted 
by  Thomas  Settle,  D.  K.  McRae,  H.  W.  Miller,  and  a  num- 
ber of  lesser  lights.  Their  campaign  was  active  but  entirely 
hopeless.  It  however  gave  great  alarm  to  the  Breckinridge 
Democrats  who  were  fearful  of  losing  the  State  to  Bell,  who 
seemingly  developed  great  strength  as  the  campaign  pro- 
gressed. 

On  the  whole  the  campaign  was  moderate  in  tone.  After 
the  division  of  the  party  the  situation  was  so  evidently  seri- 
ous that  most  speakers  were  very  conservative  in  expression 
of  opinion.  In  January  Holden,  as  a  result  of  the  John 
Brown  raid,  was  advocating  in  the  Standard  war  prepara- 
tions and  telling  B.  S.  Hedrick,  who  had  written  him  a  letter, 
that  he  would  not  publish  it,  but  that  if  he  came  South  with 
the  abolition  invaders  that  the  State  would  welcome  him  and 
them  "with  bloody  hands  to  hospitable  graves,"  but  in  the 
autumn  this  sort  of  talk  was  chiefly  notable  in  its  absence. 
Rather  there  was  a  sort  of  stillness,  a  tenseness,  of  waiting, 
of  hoping  against  hope  that  the  impending  calamity  of  Re- 


200  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

publican  success  with  its  undesired  consequences  might  be 
averted. 

The  result  of  the  election  was  as  follows: 

Breckinridge 39,711 

Bell    36,640 

Douglas     2,245 

With  this  election  ends  an  era. 


CHAPTEE  XVIII 
NORTH  CAROLINA  IN  1860 

Politically  and  socially  North  Carolina  in  1860  showed  a 
very  remarkable  development  as  contrasted  with  the  North 
Carolina  of  1835.  The  very  atmosphere  of  the  community 
was  different.  The  phenomenal  advance  of  internal  improve- 
ments and  of  public  education  had  liberalized  the  people  to 
an  extent  almost  undreamed  of  in  1835.  The  greater  part 
of  this  development  had  taken  place  in  the  last  decade  prior 
to  1860. 

In  population  the  growth  of  the  State  can  be  seen  from 
the  following  table: 

White  Population 

Per  Cent.  Increase  Rank 

1840 484,870        2.54       10 

1850 553,028       14.05       12 

1860 629,942       14.42       15 

Free  Colored 

1840 22,732  13.31  8 

1850 27,463  20.81  5 

1860 30,463  10.92  6 

Slaves 

1840 245,817  .08  5 

1850 288,548  17.38  6 

1860 331,059  14.73  7 

Aggregates 

1840 753,419  16.31  7 

1850 869,039                    2.1  10 

1860 991,464  14.2  10 

Of  this  population  only  3,298  were  foreign  born,  a  very 
slight  increase  in  the  number  over  1850.  In  both  census 
years  this  was  the  lowest  number  of  any  of  the  States  in  the 
Union.  Of  the  natives  of  other  States,  22,044  were  living 
in  North  Carolina  while  272,606  were  living  outside  the 


202  James  Sprtjnt  Historical  Publications 

State.  This  population  in  1850  lived  on  56,963  farms  with 
an  average  acreage  of  316.  There  were  in  the  State  1,184 
farms  of  over  500  acres  and  only  311  with  over  1,000  acres. 
The  material  changes  were  also  striking.  In  1850  the 
State  had  248  miles  of  railroad,  and  in  1860,  889.  In  the 
former  year  there  were  18  banks  and  branches,  while  in  the 
latter  there  were  60,  and  the  capital  had  almost  doubled.  In 
the  real  value  of  property,  real  and  personal,  there  was  an 
increase  of  58.17  per  cent,  the  amount  for  1860  being  $358,- 
739,399,  and  for  1850  $226,800,472.  The  rank  of  the  State 
in  this  respect  in  1850  was  11,  and  in  1860,  20.  The  assess- 
ed value  in  1860  was  $292,297,602.  The  State  was  of 
course  agricultural  and  its  rank  in  this  respect  compared  with 
the  other  States  is  interesting: 

TABLE 
Product  Rank 

Wheat     14 

Corn     11 

Eye     13 

Oats    16 

Peas  and  beans   2 

Irish  potatoes 22 

Sweet   potatoes    2 

Butter    29 

Cheese    24 

Wool     18 

Flax   6 

Kice    3 

Tobacco 5 

Horses    13 

Asses  and  mules 11 

Oxen     21 

Milch  cows    14 

Other  cattle   13 

Sheep    15 

Swine   8 

Value  of  stock 15 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  203 

In  manufacturing  there  had  been  considerable  develop- 
ment with  the  promise  of  more.  The  manufacturing  situa- 
tion in  1860  is  best  seen  from  the  following: 

Number  of  establishments 3,689 

Capital     $9,693,703 

Cost  of  raw  material  (annual) $10,203,228 

Number  of  hands 

Men    12,106 

Women     2,111 

Cost  of  labor $2,689,441 

Value  of  product    $16,678,698 

Government  was  comparatively  inexpensive  and  in  the 
amount  of  taxes  paid  in  the  different  States,  North  Caro- 
lina stood  twenty-first  in  1860  as  against  fifteenth  in  1850. 

Intellectually,  the  State  was  improving.  Twenty  years 
of  public  schools,  with  the  system  for  eight  years  of  that 
time  under  Calvin  H.  Wiley,  were  beginning  to  show  results. 
The  school  situation  in  the  two  census  years  appears  in 
the  following: 

Number  of  schools  1850,  2,657;  number  of  teachers 
2,730;  number  of  pupils  104,095;  amount  expended  $158,- 
564;  number  of  schools  1860,  2,994;  number  of  teachers 
2,928 ;  number  of  pupils  105,025 ;  amount  expended  $268,- 
719. 

There  were  also  many  private  schools  and  academies, 
each  class  showing  an  increase  over  1850.  The  number  of 
illiterates  had  decreased  from  73,566  in  1850  to  68,128  in 
1860. 

While  in  many  respects  the  outlook  was  encouraging,  the 
State  was  still  ridden  by  national  politics,  ever  the  curse  of 
the  people.  With  the  adoption  of  the  free  suffrage  amend- 
ment which  had  performed  an  incredibly  valuable  service 
to  the  State  in  awakening  interest  in  state  affairs,  it  looked 
as  if  the  people  would  relapse  into  their  former  indifference. 
In  1860  the  question  of  ad  valorem  taxation  gave  promise  to 
renewed  interest  in  State  politics.      The  following  extract 


I 


204         James  Spkunt  Historical  Publications 

from  a  letter  written  in  1857,  shows  the  feeling  of  the  few 
who  recognized  the  greatness  of  the  evil: 

It  was  intended  by  the  framers  of  our  governmental  or- 
ganism, both  State  and  Federal,  that  the  will  of  the  whole 
people  should  be  ascertained  in  the  way  just  pointed  out 
(Legislative  elections  in  the  States),  and  experience  has 
taught  us,  that  any  departure  from  our  organic  laws,  and 
any  lack  of  due  observance  of  them  while  in  force,  are  at- 
tended with  direful  results.  This  was  never  more  obvious 
than  in  the  case  of  this  State.  Who  can  say,  without  fear 
of  successful  contradiction,  that  North  Carolina,  with  all 
her  natural  advantages,  is  not  this  day,  far  behind  her  sister 
States  in  an  agricultural,  manufacturing,  and  commercial 
point  of  view  ?  Is  she  not  rather  following  slowly  in  the 
wake  of  other  States?  We  are  forced  to  admit  that  she  is. 
And  why  ?  Is  it  because  she  has  no  rich  and  productive  soil 
that  invites  the  industry  of  the  husbandman  ?  No.  Is  it 
because  the  manufacturer  cannot  manufacture  cotton  fabrics, 
woolens,  flour,  tobacco,  shoes,  boots,  etc.,  etc.  ?  No.  Is  it 
because  a  widespread  and  enriching  commerce  would  not 
certainly  grow  out  of  a  well  directed  system  of  agriculture 
and  manufactures,  fostered  by  an  extensive  system  of  inter- 
nal improvements  ?  No.  There  is,  in  fact,  no  good  reason — 
there  never  has  been  any  plausible  reason,  why  North  Caro- 
lina should  not  soon  be  in  advance  of  most  of  the  States  of 
the  Union,  in  point  of  her  agriculture,  manufactures,  and 
commerce.  On  the  contrary,  there  are  many  powerful  reas- 
ons why  she  should  be  a  great  and  prosperous  State.  She 
possesses  the  natural  elements  that  form  the  sure  basis  of 
wealth  and  power,  and  these  only  require  the  hand  of  indus- 
try properly  applied  to  develop  them  in  all  their  strength 
and  worth.  Her  soil,  for  the  most  part,  is  rich  and  astonish- 
ingly productive,  and  is  susceptible  of  the  highest  state  of  cul- 
tivation. She  has  water  power  unsurpassed,  sufficient  to 
drive  any  amount  of  machinery.  She  has  harbors  on  her 
seaboard  that  will  compare  favorably  with  the  best  on  the 
Atlantic  coast,  and  the  surface  of  her  territory  is  such  that 
railroads,  leading  from  almost  every  point  of  trade,  may  be 
built  with  a  very  moderate  outlay  of  means. 

Why,  let  me  ask,  have  all  these  advantages  been  so  long 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  205 

neglected  ?  There  must  be  some  cause  for  this  novel  condi- 
tion of  our  State.  Our  people  are  intelligent,  industrious, 
and  enterprising  when  properly  encouraged,  and  it  is  not 
because  they  are  wanting  in  these  indispensable  requirements 
of  success.  If  we  will  look  at  the  leading  characteristics  of 
our  Legislatures  and  legislation,  we  may  find  the  prime  cause 
of  all  our  backwardness  and  neglect  of  precious  and  valuable 
interests  and  advantages.  The  Legislature  and  legislation 
have  almost  uniformly  been  of  a  partisan  and  political  charac- 
ter. Whig,  Democrat,  or  American,  Federal  politics  en- 
tered chiefly  into  the  election  of  legislators,  and  the  result  was 
political  legislation.  Witness  the  proceedings  of  our  Legis- 
latures, and  say  if  this  is  not  true.  What  do  our  Governors 
and  legislators  talk  about  for  the  most  part,  but  Federal  poli- 
tics and  the  offices  to  be  filled  ?  How  much  time  has  been  lost 
in  electing  our  Senators  to  Congress,  our  Attorney  Generals, 
and  solicitors — in  discussing  empty  resolutions  touching 
matters  with  which  the  State  Legislature  had  nothing  to  do. 
Look  to  the  journals  of,  and  the  debates  in  the  Legislature, 
and  every  conservative  man  will  learn  to  his  supreme  dis- 
gust. One  will  be  astonished  and  dispirited  to  see  how  com- 
pletely Federal  politics  control  our  best  interests,  and  that 
too,  in  our  halls  of  State  legislation.  Look  to  our  legislation 
upon  matters  of  pressing  and  practical  importance,  and  no 
one  can  fail  to  see  how  great  detriment  the  whole  State  has 
sustained  from  time  to  time  by  political  and  office-seeking 
Legislatures.  Look,  for  example,  at  our  system  of  internal 
improvements,  the  great  mainspring  of  commercial  wealth 
and  prosperity  at  this  day.  Who  can  tell  where  it  begins, 
or  where  it  is  eventually  to  end  ?  What  is  the  settled  policy 
of  the  State  upon  this  great  matter  of  public  concern  ?  Who 
can  tell  ?  What  great  points  of  trade  and  commerce  are  to 
be  united  by  railroads  and  navigators?  What  have  we  not 
now,  roads  giving  our  seaboard  and  the  whole  State  a  direct 
connection  with  the  great  heart  of  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
so  that  our  State  might  enjoy  the  incalculable  benefits  of 
that  commerce  that  ought  to  belong  to  it  ?  Misguided  honesty 
and  political  legislation  is  the  cause.  Who  dares  to  say  that 
ever  upon  the  internal  improvement  interests  of  the  State, 
Federal  party  politics  has  not  exerted  an  unwholesome  in- 
fluence ? 


14 


206  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

Indeed,  the  time  has  fully  come  when  the  people  of  North 
Carolina  ought  to  look  to  her  immediate  interests — when  her 
people  ought  to  throw  off  party  ties  in  the  election  of  Gover- 
nor and  members  of  the  Legislature,  and  when  their  votes 
should  be  influenced  in  these  elections  by  questions  of  State 
policy  solely.  Politicians  and  office  seekers  should  be  tramp- 
led under  foot,  and  the  people  should  call  upon  the  candidates 
for  office  and  not  the  candidates  upon  the  people  to  elect  him. 

The  slavery  situation  in  the  State  furnishes  a  most  inter- 
esting field  of  study.  North  Carolina,  like  Virginia  in  the 
early  years  after  the  Revolution  and  even  thereafter,  looked 
upon  slavery  as  an  evil.  During  all  these  years  anti-slavery 
sentiment  was  freely  expressed  and  various  organizations 
were  founded  for  securing  emancipation,  the  most  notable 
being  the  North  Carolina  Manumission  Society  with  head- 
quarters at  New  Garden  which  had  over  30  separate  branches 
by  1830.  Naturally  the  feeling  was  strongest  among  the 
numerous  Quakers  in  the  State  and  they  were  the  most 
active,  but  it  was  not  at  all  confined  to  them.  Cotton  grow- 
ing was  a  negligible  interest  in  the  State  and  the  large  plan- 
tation was  the  exception.  Hence  slavery  was  not  nearly  so 
profitable  and  the  interest  was  not  so  shielded  as  in  some 
of  the  other  Southern  States. 

The  rise  of  the  abolition  movement  in  the  North  with  its 
loud,  unjust,  violent,  and  threatening  attacks  upon  slave- 
holders as  well  as  slavery  changed  this  condition.  The  South- 
ampton insurrection  only  hastened  the  process.  Opponents 
of  slavery  within  the  State  ceased  to  agitate  against  slavery 
and  began  to  defend  it.  The  Manumission  Society  and  kin- 
dred organizations  disappeared.  Laws  against  the  negro, 
whether  slave  or  free,  became,  on  the  statute  books  at  least 
harsher  and  more  rigid.  The  free  negroes  were  deprived  of 
the  suffrage.  By  1849  opposition  to  abolitionist  doctrines  had 
entered  politics  and  each  party  regularly  charged  as  its  most 
damning  indictment  against  the  other  that  it  had  a  leaning 
in  national  affairs  towards  the  abolitionists,  or  that  it  was 
controlled  by  them.    Politics,  not  economics,  solidified  North 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  207 

Carolina  sentiment  in  favor  of  slavery,  and  politics  was  re- 
sponsible for  the  complete  suppression  in  behalf  of  slavery 
of  free  thought  and  free  speech  which  now  followed  in  re- 
spect to  the  whole  question.  Not  that  slavery  was  not  in- 
creasingly valuable,  viewed  from  one  angle.  With  Virginia, 
North  Carolina  discovered  that  the  breeding  and  selling  of 
slaves  to  the  Southern  market  paid  well,  and  hence  the  prices 
of  slaves  in  North  Carolina  rose  steadily  until  in  1859  and 
1860  they  reached  their  highest  point.  It  is  said  that  in 
those  two  years  the  two  States  sold  more  than  100,000  slaves 
to  the  South.  If  that  be  true,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  sup- 
pose it  false,  the  reason  for  the  advance  in  the  price  of 
slaves  is  clear. 

In  spite  of  these  facts,  slavery  was  a  curse  to  the  vast 
majority  of  white  people  in  the  State.  Consider  the  ques- 
tion of  slave  ownership,  by  no  means  the  most  important  con- 
sideration. In  1860  there  was  a  total  of  34,658  slaveholders 
owning  331,059  slaves.  The  distribution  of  the  latter  is  most 
interesting. 

Slaveholders  No.  Slaves  Owned 

6440   1 

4017   2 

3068   3 

2546   4 

2245    5 

1887   6 

1619   7 

1470   8 

1228    9 

4044 10  to  14 

2029 15  to  19 

1997 20  to  29 

870 30  to  39 

474 .40  to  49 

423 50  to  69 

188 70  to  99 

118 100  to  199 

11 200  to  299 

4 300  to  500 


208  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

It  will  be  noted  that  more  than  half  of  the  slaveholders — 
18,316 — owned  not  more  than  five  slaves,  and  therefore  that 
their  real  economic  interest  lay  with  the  non-slaveholders. 
If  we  add  those  who  owned  less  than  ten,  most  of  whom  were 
of  the  same  class,  we  find  the  total  is  24,520,  leaving  the 
small  total  of  10,158  who  owned  ten  or  more.  Of  course 
the  total  of  the  slaveholding  class  was  greater  than  the  num- 
ber of  slaveholders  since  their  families  must  be  included.  The 
relative  numbers  were  approximately  173,290  of  the  slave- 
holding  class  as  against  456,652  in  the  non-slaveholding  class. 

For  the  non-slaveholders  and  that  part  of  the  other  class 
mentioned  above  slavery  was  a  bond  and  a  shackle.  Labor 
was  not  only  cheapened  but  degraded  and  the  door  of  oppor- 
tunity was  to  a  great  extent  closed.  Consaiousness  of  this 
came  slowly  to  the  State  as  a  whole,  but  the  flood  of  immi- 
grants moving  to  the  free  North  and  West  to  found  there 
abolitionist  families  is  testimony  beyond  impeachment  that 
the  more  progressive  elements  of  the  non-slaveholding  popu- 
lation were  finding  it  out  individually. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  anti-slavery  feeling  ever  died  in 
North  Carolina,  for  among  the  Quakers  at  least  it  survived, 
but  it  was  silent  from  1835  until  after  1850.  By  that  time  a 
new  leaven  was  at  work,  due  to  better  education,  better  means 
of  communication  with  the  other  sections  of  the  State  and 
the  rest  of  the  world,  and  visible  and  growing  evidences  of 
the  effects  of  slavery.  Daniel  R.  Goodloe,  who  left  the  State 
in  1844,  and  in  1848  became  one  of  the  editors  of  the  National 
Era,  an  abolition  paper  published  in  Washington,  was  the 
first  of  a  group  of  North  Carolinians  to  become  outspoken 
and  active  opponents  of  slavery.  He  became  convinced  by 
the  arguments  used  in  the  State  in  1831  in  defense  of  slavery 
that  it  was  wrong,  and  further  study  and  reflection  made 
him  believe  it  wrong  for  other  than  humanitarian  reasons. 
Hinton  Rowan  Helper,  the  most  important  of  the  North 
Carolina  abolitionists,  hated  the  negro  and  based  the  entire 
argument  of  his  famous  Impending  Crisis  on  the  economics 
of  slavery  and  the  non-slaveholders,  and  his  main  thesis  was 


Party  Politics  in  North  Carolina  209 

unanswerable.  He  represents  perfectly  the  point  of  view 
of  the  educated  and  thinking  non-slaveholder.  Hedrick  also 
represents  the  revolt  against  slavery  for  economic  and  social 
reasons. 

One  of  the  clearest  indications  of  the  spread  of  anti- 
slavery  sentiment  is  to  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  by  1860  the 
New  York  Tribune,  the  most  hated  probably  of  all  the  anti- 
slavery  newspapers,  had  about  200  subscribers  in  the  State 
and  other  similar  papers  were  also  circulated  in  increasing 
numbers.  Abolitionists  traveled  over  the  State  ostensibly  as 
peddlers,  booksellers,  or  preachers,  but  really  circulating 
tracts,  newspapers,  or  Helper's  book.  In  1860  four  were 
known  to  be  engaged  in  this  work  in  Guilford  County  alone. 
They  were  George  W.  Vestal,  Daniel  Worth,  Samuel  Turner, 
and  Jesse  Wheeler.  It  is  not  doubtful  that  there  were  many 
more  in  the  same  locality  as  well  as  in  other  sections.  It 
became  increasingly  difficult  to  convict  such  offenders  and 
finally  they  were  regularly  tried  by  juries  composed  entirely 
of  slaveholders. 

The  final  and  by  far  the  most  significant  movement 
against  slavery  took,  as  was  to  be  expected,  an  economic 
form.  The  demand  for  ad  valorem  taxation  of  slave  proper- 
ty was  a  conscious  attempt  to  secure  justice  in  taxation  and 
unconsciously  was  a  movement  of  the  non-slaveholders,  led 
by  the  artisan  class,  against  slavery  itself.  There  is  to  my 
mind  scarcely  a  doubt  that  had  not  the  war  intervened  the 
issue  would  have  led  to  a  complete  reorganization  of  parties 
which  in  time — and  no  long  time — would  have  put  the  State 
in  the  hands  of  the  non-slaveholders  and  ultimately  would 
have  made  of  North  Carolina  a  free  State. 

The  State  in  1835  was  decadent;  in  1860  it  was  steadily 
moving  forward.  One  can  almost  believe  that  the  very  na- 
ture of  the  people  was  being  changed.  The  rapidly  growing 
expenditure  of  public  money  for  internal  improvements  and 
public  education  was  heartily  approved  by  the  majority  of 
the  people.  Conservative  they  still  were,  but  they  were  awake 
and  from  economic  progress  were  looking  to  intellectual  and 


210  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications 

political  progress.  The  future  was  bright  and  the  horrors 
of  the  war  and  of  reconstruction  are  intensified  to  the  stu- 
dent of  North  Carolina  history  because  of  the  wonderful  edu- 
cational work  that  they  interrupted,  the  progressive  spirit 
that  they  stifled,  and  the  faith  in  the  future  that  they  de- 
stroyed. 


BIBLIOGEAPHY 

SOURCE   MATERIAL 

The  Washington,  D.  C,  National  Intelligencer,  1834-1860. 

The  Ealeigh  Register,  1835-1860. 

The  North  Carolina  Standard,  1834-1860. 

The  Ealeigh  Star,  1830-1854. 

The  Fayetteville  Observer,  1835-1860. 

The  Tarboro  Press,  1835-1860. 

The  Tarboro  Southerner,  1852-1860. 

The  Washington,  D.  C.,  Union,  1850-1855. 

The  Hillsboro  Recorder,  1836-1850. 

The  Congressional  Globe,  1835-1860. 

Abridgement  of  the  Debates  in  Congress,  1832-1843. 

The  Murphey  Papers,  Ealeigh,  1915. 

The  Correspondence  of  Jonathan  Worth,  Ealeigh,  1909. 

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Memoirs  of  William  W.  Holden,  Durham,   1911.      (John 

Lawson  Monographs). 
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Laws  of  North  Carolina,  1835-1860. 
Journals  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Commons,  1835-1860. 

SECONDARY    MATERIAL, 

Barringer,  E.,  History  of  the  North  Carolina  Railroad, 
Chapel  Hill,  1894. 

Bassett,  J.  S.,  Suffrage  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  (Ee- 
port  of  the  American  Historical  Association,  1894). 

Bassett,  J.  S.,  Slavery  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  Balti- 
more, 1899. 

Boyd,  W.  K.,  Antecedents  of  the  Convention  of  1835,  (South 
Atlantic  Quarterly,  9:83,  161). 

Boyd,  W.  K.,  Early  Relations  of  North  Carolina  and  the 
West,  (North  Carolina  Booklet,  7:293). 

Cole,  A.  C,  The  Whig  Party  in  the  South,  Washington,  1913. 

Connor,  H.  G.,  The  Convention  of  1835,  (North  Carolina 
Booklet,  8:90). 


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Connor,  R.  D.  W.,  Historical  Foundations  of  Democracy  in 
North  Carolina,  (Proceedings  of  the  North  Carolina 
Literary  and  Historical  Association,  1912). 

Connor,  R.  D.  W.,  John  Motley  Morehead,  (Proceedings  of 
the  North  Carolina  Literary  and  Historical  Association, 
1912). 

Franklin,  E.  P.,  The  Instruction  of  United  States  Senators 
by  North  Carolina,  (Historical  Papers  of  Trinity  Col- 
lege Historical  Society,  7:1). 

Moore,  J.  W.,  History  of  North  Carolina,  Raleigh,  1884. 

Nash,  Francis,  William  A.  Graham,  Raleigh,  1910. 

Norton,  A.  B.,  Reminiscences  of  the  Great  Political  Revo- 
lution of  18JfO,  Dallas,  Texas,  1888. 

Wagstaff,  H.  M.,  State  Rights  and  Political  Parties  in  North 
Carolina,  Baltimore,  1906. 

Wheeler,  John  H.,  History  of  North  Carolina,  Philadelphia, 
1851. 

Wheeler,  John  H.,  Reminiscences  of  North  Carolina,  Colum- 
bus, Ohio,  1884. 

Wiley,  C.  H.,  Speeches  and  Reports  as  Superintendent  of 
Common  Schools  from  1852  to  1860. 

The  Biographical  History  of  North  Carolina,  Greenshoror 
1905-1908. 

Eminent  and  Representative  Men  of  the  Carolinas,  Madison,. 
Wis.,  1892. 

The  North  Carolina  Manual,  Raleigh,  1914. 

The  James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications. 

The  North  Carolina  Booklet. 

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